Stalker
by Iluvia
Summary: Cuddy has a creepy stalker and House tries to help...Cuddy POV
1. Chapter 1

**A new story to keep my mind from doing loops over "Our World". Hope you like =)**

**Disclaimer: I still owe nothing.**

**Stalker**

I was going to my office, I was tired and irritated. I'd been up all night going over the budget for next year and I was tired beyond anything. I was getting too old for all nighters I mumbled to myself as I entered my office and shedding my coat as fast as I could to get to my coffee. I needed my morning fix right now. Turning to my desk I stopped as I saw 2 roses lying on the top of it. I was quickly going over coming in; was the door locked? I'd been on auto and I just couldn't remember now. I walked over and looked down at them with a suspicious glance and notice the note under it. I pick up the roses; one white, one red and couldn't help myself sniffing one of them in the romantic idea that the roses were from someone who liked me. The only one that repeatedly broke into my office was House. I picked up the note and dropped the roses as my eyes read the words:

"I'm watching you."

I looked around, half expecting House to jump out from my adjoined bathroom but he didn't. I put the note back down and decided I'd deal with this after the budget meeting rather than now. I threw the roses and the note one last glance and mentally reminded myself to go talk to House later.

~~ o.O.o ~~

If I'd been tired before the meeting, it was noting compared to how tired I was after. My head was practically spinning from going over numbers again and again. The board of course wanted the cut down on House. Four doctors doing nothing but an average of 30 cases a year wasn't a priority. There was no news there. I'd argued the same point for years now and I was used to it. House was staying and with the same 3 fellows. I didn't see why they even tried to argue it. It might just be 30 cases, but it was 30 referred cases from other doctors who'd given up on patients that would otherwise have died.

As I entered my office and was hoping I could go home early with a stack of paperwork to rest my tired head on, I was thoroughly disappointed; House was sitting my chair with the roses and the note in his hands.

"This is a bit odd. Why state the obvious; it's impossible to miss that huge ass of yours. They could use it as a beacon to outer space."

"House. Don't you have better things to do than snoop in my office?"

"Not really. Besides this is more fun. Some moron left you two flowers and a freaky stalker note." I sighed and rubbed my temples.

"You didn't leave them?" He looked bewildered.

"Why would I leave you flowers?" He tried to sound resentful but there was something about the way he looked at me that told me he was deflecting.

"To freak me out? A joke?"

"I can do better than this. This is lame," he said getting up and letting me have my chair, flowers and note on the desk included. I half wanted him to take it so I didn't have to deal with it but he simply stood next to me looking down at the items as well as I did.

"If you didn't leave them…" I trailed off not wanting to think about whom else could have. "Must be the cleaners thinking I'm too messy." I brushed it off and quickly threw note and roses in the trash.

"So you'd have kept them had it been from me?"

"I…" I couldn't seem to help the blush coming on and was thanking my morning self for applying just that tad bit more makeup before leaving the house. "No, House. I wouldn't but I'd have know who did it."

"I see." He gave me a piercing stare and I returned it. He then suddenly nodded and turned around to leave. "Okay." I sat there looking after him and as always I didn't have a clue what was going on in that head of his. I sighed and opted for doing some paperwork here and now as I was already seated and going home seemed like a long way away.

~~ o.O.o ~~

I ended up falling asleep on my stack of papers and wasn't woken till the cleaning lady came and bustled around finally rousing me from my slumber. I quickly gathered myself and my stuff and left my office walking to my car with my head filled with groggy thoughts of sleep.

I drove home and as I stumbled in I almost fell over a small package lying just outside my door. I picked it up cautiously and shook it.

"Great idea to shake a potential bomb." I mumbled to myself as I carried the box inside and setting it on the small table in the hall as I freed myself from my coat and shoes. I needed a shower first before anything.

I felt refreshed and more awake as I came out after the shower and dressed in a comfortable loose-fitting t-shirt before heading to the kitchen for a cup of tea. While the water was boiling I remembered the box and I retrieved it from the hall with a curiosity of a 5-year-old. Even Deans of Medicine had their vices; I rationalized to myself as I opened the box. It was a simple brown paper box. There was no card; no sender or any indication that it was even really for me but it was on my porch so ergo it was for me I quickly decided.

The box was sealed with a piece of tape that I quickly tore off opening the box in the same movement. I regretting being so nosy the second I saw what was in it; it was my nametag from the clinic and an earring of mine I'd lost the other week, neatly placed on a piece of paper. I took out the items, gulping down the sudden lump that had formed in my throat, and unfolded it to read the note inside:

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? 

Thou art more lovely and more temperate: 

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,

 And summer's lease hath all too short a date: 

Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, 

And often is his gold complexion dimm'd; 

And every fair from fair sometime declines,

 By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd;

 But thy eternal summer shall not fade 

Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;

 Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade, 

When in eternal lines to time thou growest: 

So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,

 So long lives this and this gives life to thee.

I held my breath. I was a beautiful poem but there was something wrong with anyone sending me this. I had no one in my life at the moment that could have an excuse to send me such a poem. Or return my lost items for that matter. I put the note back in the box and closed it before setting it on the table. I was going to decide about this later. I needed to sleep now. I was so tired I wasn't thinking straight. I left the box and the questions it raised behind and checked every lock and window one extra time before crawling into bed and falling asleep immediately.

~~ o.O.o ~~

The next morning as I entered my office I was surprised to see House already at my desk with two more roses and a note in hand.

"Morning House." I greeted him warily as I approached him. He looked up with an uncharacteristic serious look which made me worry instantly without even really knowing the cause.

"What House?" He silently handed me the note from under the roses and I let my eyes run over the few words:

"I will love you like no other man!

You are the beauty that takes the breath out of the wind,

The gentle caress of blissful sorrow over love well made,

And life's undoubted truth of sweetly covered dew in the grass.

I will be your for all eternity and catch you on every breath,

Oh please don't forget."

I looked at House again. He looked up at me as well reading every expression I'd made as I read the few lines.

"It's a crap poem." I couldn't help but laugh. It was pretty crap.

"Thanks." He smiled a small smile.

"If that guys is in like love with you and think that's you; he's a moron." That was all he said, getting up and leaving me standing wondering if it was an insult or a compliment. I was quickly interrupted by my assistant and I spent the rest of the day chasing my own tail – or so it felt – while trying to make ends meet.

The next few days were busy but every morning there were two roses on my desk and a note of some kind; either a poem or a note with a comment on something, and in the evenings when I got home there was a small little box with some item of mine I'd lost and poem inside. As the days morphed into two weeks of these messages and declarations of love I was tired of it. I was certain it wasn't House as he'd had a case and had been busy obsessing over the musical genius and getting " a cool drug in is brain" and he had had no additional time to inquire about my roses and letters.

I was getting more and more angry as I found yet another set of roses on my table every morning and as the 15th pair of them were decorating my neat pile of paperwork I didn't read the note or even paid it any more attention than I did irregular mess. I had been thinking that the guy would give up with there was no reaction but it seemed he didn't really want one. Or he'd keep going no matter what.

I sat down turning my chair and looking out the window. It was a cold day and the sky was grey torn with bits of white. It was gloomy and I felt the mood of it all get to me. I sighed and turned back to my desk and the enormous stack of paperwork on it. I spent the next hour signing off this and that till my hand was aching and my body was screaming for coffee.

I was disturbed by House who came bustling as per usual without knocking. I looked up and he smiled like cat that was closing in on its prey.

"House?"

"How's your love boy?" I frowned at his choice of words.

"He's not-"

"Cuddy, I know," he cut me off. "But taking it he's still sending you stuff?" I nodded with a tired sigh. There was this thing with House that when you really did need him to take it serious he did. Like choosing a donor for my baby. Somehow he just knew the subtle difference between when to blurt it all out and walk all over and the times when he needed to keep it to himself. This seemed like one of the times. I felt myself relax in his company as he sat down.

"So still just roses and crappy poems?" I nodded.

"And the box on the evening when I get home with some sort of lost item of mine." I hadn't told him about that. He'd been bent on the case and I saw no reason to interrupt with some petty problem of a love struck stalker.

"Lost items?"

"Last night was an earring I lose a while back, night before was a hair clip…just stuff."

"Personal stuff," he corrected me with a frown. He twirled his cane between his hands and looked at me with a piercing stare. I had no idea what he was thinking but I didn't like that the situation had him keep his sarcastic and snide remarks to himself. That wasn't a good sign.

"What are you thinking?" He shook his head.

"Nothing. Don't worry. It will blow over. He'll find out who you really are and run for the hills." He smirked as he said it but even though it was rude it was oddly reassuring coming from him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks very much for your reviews guys!! I'm happy you like this. I am trying to write this fast but I can't plan it all out that fast and still keep myself happy with it (and write my other story) so I hope you'll bear with me =)**

2

I was waking up slowly and groaning as my alarm started to go off. I hated waking up one minute before your alarm. It's the ultimate disappointment: waking up without the sound of alarm and you hope it's only in the middle of the night and then the alarm goes off and you have to get up. I turned my alarm off cursing it to hell and back for the interruption. I sat up running a hand through my hair trying to wake up enough to get up and take my shower.

I got out of the bed and waddling to my bathroom I shed my nightie on the way. Turning on the water and making sure it was the right temperature I was going over my day in head. I realized I had a fairly light day with only one meeting and then clinic. I loved the clinic and I did as many hours as the rest of my staff when my time allowed it. It was my very own self-made baby and I was tremendously proud of it.

I finished my shower quickly and went down for my coffee. I was humming and I did a twirl on my way with a goofy smile. But my smile was quickly wiped off as I could see something in the small window of my door. I could only see that it was a shadow of some kind staining the glass. I stopped breathing hard and feeling scared.

"Come on Lisa! Stop being scared of shadows." I moved to the door and like ripping off a band-aid I opened it quickly. I wanted to close it again right after at the sight that met me outside. On my porch there was a small pile of my trash, which had a great part of the gift my stalker had sent me in it. It was all neatly organized into small piles of leftover food, a few bottles and then all the gifts in one pile to the front of it all right up against my door and some items in the door. There was a note on the door pinned with red nail. I read it not really wanting to know what a person who's go through my garbage and organize it would have to say:

"Your carelessness and unappreciative manner makes me sick."

I gulped and looked around the street. It was empty apart from a mum rushing her kids to her car. I didn't know what to do really so I started picking all the trash up and putting it back before a neighbour complained about it. I was in a state of shock as I drove into work and I hardly saw or heard any of the good mornings people greeted me with as I rushed to my office. I even forgot my coffee, which was quickly spotted by my assistant who came with it.

On my desk there were two new roses lying there looking back at me as I sat staring at them dumbly. I couldn't work. My brain was working it its highest gear trying to figure this out. It was clearly a person who was very disturbed and also very persistent with access to the hospital. That left numerous people but only very few had access to my office; me, the janitor, the cleaning crew and House. But thinking about it if House so carelessly and easily gained entrance it wouldn't take a genius to steal the janitor's key and make a copy or mine for that matter. Or even House's. That left a good deal of all staff, patients and donors who it could be still.

Except that the time of when it had to be done. I left my office somewhere between 5 and midnight depending on my day and what happened so for this person to know when to sneak in it'd had to be after I left and after the cleaning crew had been and the person would need some kind of excuse to be here that late. Not that cleaning would take the flower if they were there when they came. They knew better than to take, move or even look at my desk by now and I was sure that when someone new started they all gave him (or her) a long list starting with "Do NOT EVER touch the Dean's desk.".

I felt myself sidetracking in this inner Sherlock Holmes conundrum and my mind was going back to my porch and the note. Was it a threat that I made him sick? I was half thinking it was a step up from being a rose and all the other crap he'd called me but I knew it wasn't. This person was sick and I needed help to get rid of him. I didn't wanna go to the Police and I had no friends around here I'd tell about it…except House. I looked down at the note on the desk and it wasn't until now I realized something was under it. I took the note without reading it and gasp as I saw a key under it. Was that a key to my house? I picked it up and also took my own house keys out for comparison; they matched.

My heart was beating like a drumstick: this creep had a key to my house. He had access to my own home. Where the hell would I go from that? If he could get in when he wanted to…he'd be like House, I mused. But for once it wasn't funny to me and for once I needed House to get here and crack a joke about it. I looked at my watch: 9.40. He wouldn't be in for another hour at least. I thought about calling him but knew he'd only ignore my calls.

I decided I had nothing to fear at work and started to read my e-mails to distract myself from it all but I wasn't really concentrating and I found myself reading the same lines over and over again and looking at the clock every other minute.

When my door was more or less thrown into my office by House I jumped out of my skin and even squealed in pure fright. I was so hyped up about this stalker I'd lost my nerve despite House always entered my office that way. He stopped and looked at me with a questioning look.

"Why are you so jumpy?" He moved to the side of my desk before I even answered and looked at the flowers and the key. Picking up the key and furrowed his brow. "Does this unlock what I think it does?" I nodded and he grinned and I had a feeling some crude joke on my behalf was coming. He bent down over me placing a hand on my stomach and letting it slide down. I jumped up out of my chair.

"What are you doing?"

"I wanted to unlock your chastity belt," he said with the most innocent look he could muster.

"House!"

"You said it unlocked what I though it did, Cuddles." I wanted to cry. It was very simple. He was cracking a House-joke on my behalf and I wanted to cry. He must have noticed the change as I looked down on his feet. I was a wreck this morning. First the note and the garbage on my porch and now the key with House cracking stupid jokes about it.

"Okay, it was only a joke." I could hear him move around changing his weight from one leg to the other and back again. "Okay, this creepy filch has got a key to your house. Change the locks." I looked up at him. Typical House to suggest something so simple when I'd been wringing my brain trying to figure out what to do. I nodded slowly.

"Of course…." He smiled a genuine and very unlike House smile before he pocketed the key and left making me wonder why he'd come in in the first place.

The rest of my day was spent getting new locks and bribing the man to do it today. House seemed to find excuses to check up on me or he sent Wilson but he never said anything really and it was sure he hadn't told Wilson about it either.

Just as I was packing up to leave House came in. He stood for a moment looking a little embarrassed and unsure.

"What do you want House?" He looked up with a serious stare.

"I think either I should stay at your house or you stay at mine till this creep gives up." The statement took me by surprise completely. This was House caring and I knew it. If I joked with him he'd leave and be cross with me for weeks after but if I gave into too easily I'd be a wanton slut creating this stalker to get him into bed. I nodded slowly.

"Okay." I said hesitantly but then I smiled. I really couldn't help teasing him. "Your place or mine?" He smiled as well and there was an ease between us we hadn't really managed since college.

"Mine's got beer and chips."


	3. Chapter 3

**First of thanks very much all for you reviews!!! They really warm my heart and it's cool to know you love reading the story as much as I love writing it =) **

**As for the stalker (who many of you have commented on) he's meant to be creepy and I'm trying to come up with the wackiest ideas for what he's gonna do to Cuddy (and maybe House) but I think it'll mainly be really wacky things (as they're kinda really fun to plan out lol).**

**I've up-graded this to M story. Don't say I didn't warn you ;-)**

3

We'd gone by my place, House snatching my present from me and pocketed it for later, he's said. I didn't mind. Saved me having to deal with what was in it. At the moment he was sitting looking at the package on the couch. We'd ordered Chinese and were waiting on it.

"This guys really sent you gifts for 16 days?" I nodded and looked up at him. He fiddled with the package before he tore the paper and opened the box. He curiously peered into it and took out a note handing it to me. "For you." I looked down at his hand but didn't take the note off him.

"I don't wanna read it." He grinned.

"You sure?" He looked up at me mischief in his eyes. I bit my lip. I liked him when he had that look in his eyes; it meant he found something funny and funny was not being worried. I needed that right now. I took the note off him and read it.

"I'm always watching."

Panic was spreading through my body at the thought of him actually watching me was making my skin crawl. I just sat there staring at the note feeling lost and alone till a hand covered mine and took the note away from me.

"Lisa, he's just a lost puppy. If he meant business he'd have done something by now." I nodded just looking at my hand that had been holding the note. Why had this happened to me? Who had I pissed off to deserve this? An arm around my shoulders got me looking up at him. I nodded not really believing what he said. Something about this whole thing was getting me worried and no matter what I had a feeling that House wasn't right for once.

**~~o.O.o~~**

I was lying awake on House's couch running over all the notes, gifts and poems the stalker had sent me when a low scratching noise at the door caught my attention. I jumped out of my skin but the noise had me getting curious and angry. This could be one of House's whore he'd ordered to piss me off but I still got up and snuck to the door staying as quiet as I could. I made sure not to stand right in front of the door as the vague light was coming under the door and I didn't wanna throw a shadow. I peeked out through the peephole. All I saw at first was just the hall and nothing else. The soft light in the hall only lighting up the wall in the other side of the hallway. I was about to step back and crawl back on his couch when someone stood up and looked through the hole right at me like he knew I was there. I stepped back, my heart beating like the rhythm of a techno song but I couldn't help myself looking back through the hole. I had to know.

The person was gone. I moved about to get as much of the view as I could but he was gone. I contemplated waking up House but I knew he'd be too grumpy to be much help so I opened the door and looked around for any evidence of it being the stalker and not just some random creep. There was nothing. I was about to close the door when something was lowered by a string, triggered by me closing the door, coming towards me. I grabbed at the item but immediately pulled back as a sharp pain shot through my hand. I felt the blood run down my hand even before I looked at it and decided to close the door fast.

I hurried to the bathroom where I surveyed the injury after turning on that light. The cuts were bigger and deeper than it felt and looking at it more closely I saw that the cuts was completely clean suggesting the item I'd grabbed at had been really sharp. I turned on the water and started rinsing the blood off.

I searched around the small room for some bandages and finally found them. My hand was throbbing like mad and I was biting my lip in pain as I was tried to get the bandage on but I was tired and it just seemed an impossible task. I kept trying as it was my right hand I'd hurt it just wouldn't come on. I gave up as the tears were forming out of pain, shock and sorrow. I sniffed and tried to hold it all back but it was all too much. This man who was stalking me knew I was here with House and he'd put up some thing in front of the door. I sat down on the toilet letting my tears run freely. I didn't hear House come down the hall and I didn't notice him opening the door till he stood in front of me with a questioning look.

"What the hell is this?" His voice was gruff and hard and it only made the tears run even more. I stretched out my hand to him helplessly and he took it gently unwrapping my bad attempt at bandaging it. He frowned when he saw it. "What happened? How you get cuts like this?" His voice was softer now and it calmed me just enough to actually get the words out.

"The door." House only looked even more puzzled. "The stalked," I croaked out and he nodded. He didn't leave to go see but sat down on the tub next to me and started wrapping my hand in the bandage. I managed to stop crying and I was just sniffing as he finished.

"Stay here," he said as he got up. He came back a few minutes later with an odd object in his hand dangling from a black string. "This is was you grabbed?" I shrugged. How would I know what I grabbed? I didn't get a good look at it at all. "You didn't even look at it?" He sounded like an angry father and towering over me he looked like one as well taking me back to the first time I'd stolen a cookie and fallen down the kitchen bench.

"I was awake when I heard a noise at the door and I got up to look… He was there. As I closed the door it came towards me." I sniffed again and looked at my hand. When I looked up I was looking at the item being dangled in front of me. It was a rubber ball with small surgery knives sticking out of it. No wonder it had done that much damage. What a sick person would do this?

"Okay, we're going to the Police in the morning. But now you're going to bed." He took my hand making me stand and then set off down the hall. He left the ball on a small table on the way. I turned into the living room but he grabbed my hand again. "You need to actually sleep." Was all he said as he led me to his bedroom. He let me crawl in first and it wasn't till I had lied down I realized there was only one cover.

"House…" He slipped in and wrapped an arm around me. I was taken back completely. I was his boss but God I needed the comfort right now. I felt sad, confused and scared and I needed House right now to be here for me.

"Yes Cuddy?"

"We shouldn't-"

"I know." And with that he gave me a soft push so I rolled over to my side and he pulled me to him. "Get some sleep and stop thinking up girly fantasies about this being a cuddle." I smiled and relaxed taking the comfort offered. I entangled my good hand with his lacing my fingers through his as I pulled the hand to my chest not really thinking about it. I rested my head on his arm and closed my eyes. It didn't take me long to fall asleep in his arms. As I was drifting off I felt his lips on my neck.

"You're safe."

**~~o.O.o~~**

I woke up and felt warm and protected. I opened my eyes and realized I was hugged to House's chest my arm over is stomach and a leg draped over his good one. His arm was wrapped around my waist on naked skin as my top had ridden up. I lifted my head and he groaned in dissatisfaction. He turned to his side and his other hand was wrapped around me hugging to his chest again as he rested his head on my shoulder. He looked almost happy and I smiled at him. I loved this man no matter what I tried to tell myself. I had loved him since college and no matter how lame it sounded first time I saw him he was the one for me or the one that would always be something special to me.

I remembered him back in collage. I'd been young and I'd been so bent on being the best. He'd challenged me non-stop till I gave into him and we'd had the most amazing and adventurous sex I'd ever had. The sex back then was only topped by the sex we had meeting up just before he met Stacy. We'd met at a party and we'd spent 2 hours circling each other and then left together stayed in his bed all weekend going at it like rabbits. I knew we had chemistry but I never thought he'd actually wanted to have a relationship with me so I never let myself get diluted that being in love with him would mean anything to him or how I felt. I'd long ago given up on House as more than a co-worker and at times a friend.

He grunted and then sighed into my neck his breath making me shiver slightly. If he knew just how much power he had over me I'd be fired as a Dean in a second. I wrapped my arm around him returning the hug let my hands stroke him gently on the back earning me a soft sigh more. His skin was soft and smooth. His right hand travelled down my body before cupping my ass.

"I always said you had a huge ass."

"Then why are you cupping it?"

"Never said I didn't like it." He gave it a gently squeeze. "Actually it fits my hands just perfect." He looked me straight in the eye. "It always did, didn't it?" I shrugged with a teasing smile, which only served as a challenge to him. He let his hand run down the top of my leg drawing it over his hip before his hand returned to my ass again. I knew I had to fight him off, stop this but I wanted this too much. Wanted him too much and with morning fuss still fogging my brain my normal filter was off. And I loved being the sole centre of his attention and for once not fighting. I pressed myself against him and it was no surprise to me that he was already getting excited. He grinned and rolled me onto my back following himself pinning me down. I'd been here before with him and I knew that look in his eyes.

He brought his hand up cupping my face softly stroking my cheek and then he lifted my face to his capturing my lips between his. It was slow for the first 4 seconds till I returned it and then it was like the spark that always flared between us exploded in blinding passion. The few pieces of clothes we were wearing were gone in a flash leaving skin on skin.

In between fevered kisses he got himself positioned just right between my legs starting to rub himself on me making me moan. I wrapped my legs around giving him full access as I battled his tongue for dominance and backing down as he started to push himself in ever so slowly. It had been ages since I last had sex and the slow burn and stretch of muscles mixed with the pleasure was having me in half fits arching up into him.

"You were always so impatient, Cuddles." I didn't really care about his teasing as I used my hand that was buried in his hair to pull his mouth to mine. I could feel him smile against my lips as he finally slipped all the way in making him groan in time with my moan. "God, how long has it been since some poor guy was caught in your web?" He placed small kisses on my collarbone and up my neck to just behind my ear. "You're as tight as back in collage."

"Shut up House and just-" He bit my earlobe as pulled out almost the whole way and then slamming back into me making me whimper.

**~~o.O.o~~**

I looked up at the watch and sighed. It was 7.30 and I knew I had to get going soon to be at work on time.

"I need a shower." He gave my neck a soft kiss making me smile like a goof. He looked up at the watch as well and then back down at me.

"Are there no perks when you're sleeping with the boss?" He kissed me possessively letting his tongue trace my lip.

"There are but-"

"We're not going to work till after we've been at the Police."

"Can't we just call them? We should call them here. Some of the stuff from-" He cut me off with kiss.

"You're going to the Police. I'll go with you so you don't run off to work and try to burry this under your new found sexual bliss."

* * *

**Sorry to end it like this but I'll try and update soon =)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Again, thanks very much for your kind reviews =) I dunno where I get the wacked ideas from…I suspect there's something wrong with me :P but it's only gonna get worse…ish. Nothing too bad.**

**Sorry for the long delay on posting but well life was calling…Like chasing 3 kittens around trying to keep them inside.. O.o**

**And this is pure huddy which will have its purpose next chapter =) And it's kinda short as well. I'll make up for it over the weekend, I promise.**

4

I was more or less marching into my office, huffing and desperately trying to regain some kind of emotionally stability. I'd had a meeting with a donor making the oddest comments, request and asked some really weird questions about my personal life. In the end I'd given up on trying to get a straight answer from him about the donations and ended the meeting by having House calling me.

We'd been to the Police who's taken the report but seemingly not been worried or bothered too much about my stalker saying a lot of them gave up after a while or moved on to someone new without ever really doing any actual harm to the victim.

I huffed. My hand was burning and it felt twice as big under the bandage. Looking at the clock I knew House was still in the clinic (the question was if he was seeing any patients) so I set off to find him and demand he took a look. I needed him to calm me down. I was at boiling point at the moment. The donor, Peter Svensson, had actually managed to keep in the meeting for over an hour. What a waste of time, I growled to myself as I entered the clinic and stopping House at the counter.

"You're not taking a new patient. I need you for a consult." He nodded looking a little taken back at the growling command from me. We took exam room 2 and I sat down starting to unwrap my hand. House closed the door and sat down in front of me looking at my slow unwrapping. My hand looked like a big mass of flesh and blood. We both just stared at it for a second. No wonder it had hurt so much this morning. It was all red and raw around the cut with blisters covering most of the skin in my palm.

"What on earth did that bastard put on those knives?" House looked like thundercloud as I looked up at him. My anger was gone; my hand looked like something out of a horror movie and it stung and hurt like it'd been cut off. "You'll need some steroids." I nodded agreeing. He started to clean the wound, which almost had me in tears, before he redressed it and went out for the meds. Coming back, he handed them to me. "You're gonna stay at my place for a while," he stated not leaving any room for me to argue. Not that I wanted. I wanted to stay with House more than anything. Both because I was scared and felt so alone when I was home on my own but also because I wanted to continue what we'd started last night. Whatever it was or gonna be.

I nodded slowly. I needed a hug and painkillers. I was looking at my hand thinking if it'd ever heal up to look just a bit like it used to. I almost jumped when he put a hand under my chin and gave me a sift peck on the lips.

"You have more meetings today?" I shook my head. "How about we go home and you can bring you mountains of paperwork or whatever you think you need to bring and you can relax and have some painkillers?" I considered for a second but as my hand seemed to hurt more and more now that I knew what it looked like I nodded again.

"Sounds good." He smiled vaguely and rubbed my cheek with his thumb.

It only took us about 10 minutes to get me packed up, House to tell my assistant I was sick and that he was taking me home and then leave the hospital.

"You want to get something to eat on the way or some take away?"

"How about take out Italian?" He nodded and we got food from the nearest place before going to my house and picking more clothes before heading to House's apartment. There were no notes, gifts or any other trace of the stalker and I felt more relaxed when we stepped in to his messy homey flat. It had a sense of House and home that I found myself liking despite

"You mind if I take a shower?"

"You'd feel better after a bath." He grinned as he walked to the kitchen. "And then I could join you." I rolled my eyes.

"You could also join me in the shower." I tried to argue but I could see myself loosing this one.

"But there's more time to grope you in a bath." I smiled following him to the kitchen. I liked his kitchen with the almost 50'ies countryside look to it.

"We should eat first."

"We'll reheat." He stepped up in front of me and gave me a kiss. I wrapped my arms around his chest and stepping into his arm that he closed around me. I felt him place small kisses in my hair showing a level of affection that genuinely surprised me and it almost made me cry. Had he kept this inside for as long as I had or was it brought on by all of this? I had no actual need to know right now. Fact was he was here when I needed him. I dnnno for how long we stood there eventually we let go and he gave me a lingering kiss.

"Bath first, then food." I gave in and nodded. He took my hand leading me to the bathroom where he turned on the water making sure it wasn't too hot or cold before he turned to me with a boyish smile. Stepping up to me he batted away my hands as I was about to take my top off. He slow lifted it over my head letting the tips of his fingers grace my skin giving me goosebumps all over. He threw the top next to us on the floor and I was about to protect to the lack of respect for my clothes when he pulled me to him and kissed me so passionately I forgot about clothes and the like only feeling him.

Letting go of me he smiled widely and with a softness to him I hadn't seen before at all. It made my heart skip a beat and I knew I was falling in love. Not just loving him but falling in love; the half-state of insanity where the only release to the manic obsession was the other person.

I lifted his t-shirt over his head as well letting it drop on top of my top and soon the rest of our clothes were in the same pile and we were crawling into the tub. I sat between his legs and he immediately wrapped his arms around me placing soft kisses on my neck and behind my ear.

"Feeling a bit better?" I nodded.

"Why don't you show this side more often?" Where had that question come from? I knew why House was the way he was; I'd met his father.

House was silent for a long time and I thought he'd decided to just not answer when he finally spoke.

"If I did you'd have known how I felt about you a long time ago and I wasn't ready for that." I almost gulped as his words made my heart grow and my eyes were welling up with tears.

"Greg." He pressed a soft but firm kiss to my cheek.

"Cuddles, don't be silly and start crying." I closed my eyes and willed the tears to still. I was a mess. I was crying over something I should be smiling about. This was great. He'd said it and even though I knew he'd spend the next months negating what he's said, he'd said and I'd heard it.

"I'm a mess," I said in a small voice leaning more into him and the protection and comfort he offered.

"I know." He said simply. "You want me to piss you off? Then you can be all hard-ass Cuddy, Dean of Medicine and I can play the role of you pain in the ass diagnostician. " I couldn't help but smile at him and as I turned to see him he was smiling back at me. I placed a hesitant kiss on his lips for some reason not sure of myself right now but he returned it right away and pulled him to me letting his hands wander over my body in massaging patterns.

**~~o.O.o~~**

I was lying in bed curled up to House who was still awake after our latest round of non-lovemaking as House refused to label it as. It was sex! I smiled and let my hand trace the lines of the taunt muscles in his chest. The cane gave him a slight overbuild on the right side but it didn't matter. To me he was perfect, scar and all. I kissed his chest and sat up. I should have been tired but I felt restless and like something was off. More off than having a stalker that is.

"Go to sleep. You'll need or you'll have to obsess even more in front of the mirror tomorrow," House growled but the malice in his voice was gone and he just sounded tired.

"I'm restless."

"How can you be that after 3 orgasm?" He whined throwing his head back in the pillow. "Go find a book then." I got up and walked to his living room taking my time looking through all the books till I settled on Wuthering Heights. I loved that book.

"Why do you have Wuthering Heights?" I asked walking back and climbing into bed again. He groaned moodily.

"Guess Stacy left it." I turned the first page and there was my name.

"This was my book once." He turned over and checked himself before shrugging.

"Guess you left it then."

"I left it?" I mocked. "I lost this back at college." He grinned.

"Like I said you left it."

"Greg-"

"At my place over the summer when we were fooling around." He'd turned over fully now and had put his head on my breast.

"You gonna lie there?" He nodded.

"Read to me now you woke me up." So I read Wuthering Heights to Greg that night. Well not all of it but a good deal till we got sidetracked with each other and finally managed to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**I've noticed this thing that most of the writers in here apologize at every chapter for the slow update so for once I won't! I refuse…But I will say many thanks for the reviews and ppl who's added me to penname =)**

**I finally had time today to sit and just write. I love trains that way; nothing better to do :P Anyway, enuf monologging, enjoy. I'm trying to work up something crazy for next chapter but I'm just too normal to process that kind of crazy fast enuf O.o**

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I woke as House ran a hand over my stomach and tickling me. I squirmed.

"Nooo, it's not time to get up yet." He placed a kiss on my neck his stubble scraping my sensitive skin. He gave it a slight bite and then he started sucking. That got me moving; he was making a love bite on me.

"House no!" I pushed him away and he started laughing as I finally opened my eyes moving away from him but I didn't make it far as he held on to me and as his laughter subsided he looked into my eyes with a look I couldn't decipher or maybe I wasn't ready to, I had no idea but when he leaned down and kissed me my toes were curling up and my heart did a leap. He smiled as he let go of my lips and just the sight of him smiling genuinely was such a rare thing it took a bit by surprise.

"What's with the innocent looks? Where did my mistress go?" I smiled. He was still House.

"What time is it?"

"Not that late…" I sighed.

"How late?" He smirked.

"I cancelled all your meeting when you went home sick yesterday. And I suggest you stay home with that pulp of a hand." I nodded and then smiled.

"But you can't."

"But muuuummm. It's my apartment." I considered his words and if maybe it was time to go home.

"I'll go home."

"Good idea." He said sarcastically. "There's only this creep lurking around."

"I'll go to work then." I stated not willing to give in.

"Okay you can stay here if I can call in sick." He smiled to me sweetly but before I could answer his cell started to ring.

"Might be your team."

"No it's Wilson." He picked it up. "Better be good." He put it on speaker.

"It's not. I'm assuming you're with Cuddy?" He didn't really wait for House to answer. "You'll both either wanna stay home or some deal with this."

"This being?" He looked at me getting serious. Wilson was prone to panic but something in his voice made us both take him serious.

"You two had sex."

"How did you..?" I asked confused.

"The whole hospital does."

"Jimmy talk clearly. What's going on?" House shot in loosing patience.

"There's pictures all over. Of you two going at it." He finally said like he was revealing the biggest secret in the world and an embarrassing one at it.

"What!?" I shrieked.

"I'm sorry, Cuddy. The team is out collecting them but there was an email for all staff." I was horrified. No, horrified was too weak a word. I was going insane. My head was spinning and I was out of the bed heading for the bathroom with every intent on claiming every last bit evidence I'd sleep with House floating around my hospital and then I'd terrify my staff to delete the email. The only person I knew I'd have no effect on in a state like this was House but for once I was lucky; he was on my side in this.

"Gotta go Jimmy before the boss looses her mind." House hung up and followed me into the bathroom. "Hey." He took my hand as I was about to step into the shower and pulled me back to him.

"House this isn't…" He nodded.

"I know. Unless you forgot I'm on those pictures as well." I sighed frustrated. I needed to vent but it wasn't really House's fault and blaming him would only make this worse. I stepped into him wrapping my arms around him and he returned the hug.

**~~o.O.o~~**

Entering the hospital it was like the while room had been talking about us and no doubt they all actually had. House was walking behind me and I could feel his scowl directed at every person daring to snigger, smile or even give me a pitying look. He was furious. As much as House like to out other people being outed was not something he found funny.

We entered my office, looks burning at the back of my neck. On the desk was a massive heap of paper and House's 3 fellows were sitting around the room looking exhausted. Wilson came in shortly after. I wasn't too happy with these invasions but this was not the time to yell at people who were helping. House walked over to the desk right away and picked up a piece of paper. He studied it for a second and then he looked at me.

"We look hot together." There was no other human in the world that could crack a joke at this except House. But in its own way his manner was reassuring.

"How bad?" He held the paper out to me and I stepped up and took it from him. I almost dropped it again. The pictures was from his bedroom of us; sleeping, having sex and when I was reading to him. I crumbled the paper and threw it back at the pile. "Is this all?" Chase nodded slowly.

"That e could threaten, wrench or got thrown at us. Some were vicious." He said with a pout. "Seems you two are quite popular." He smirked but both House and I shot him a glare that I was sure would leave a scar and he snapped his mouth shut. Cameron rolled her eyes at him and then looked at me.

"You have any idea in who would do this?" I was about to answer when House interrupted me.

"Was there anything on the desk when you came and before you made Mouth Sex?" Foreman sighed annoyed, Chase shrugged and Cameron seemed to try to remember. House gave them a hard stare and then dove into the pile, tearing through it all and scattering it on the floor in a mess of pictures.

"House!" He looked up at me with a questioning look.

"What?" I looked helplessly around at the papers on the floor.

"I think after having collected them all they've all seen it more than they whished for." He kept going and finally managed to free my desk from the unwanted mess. He looked around for a while before he picked up an envelope. He handed it to me and I reluctantly opened it. There were even more pictures inside that I decided to leave in there but in front of it was a piece of paper. I took it out and unfolded it.

_"Dear Lisa,_

_If you think I'm going away just because you move or you end a meeting with a pretend call of urgency, you are were wrong. I'm here to stay and the sooner you give in the easier it will be for you._

_-Thomas."_

House took it from me and quickly read the note.

"Okay, children, time for mummy, daddy and uncle Jimmy to talk." Cameron was about to protest but he shut her up with a harsh glare and they all left as fast as they could scurry out. I called a meekly thank you after them.

"Are you two gonna tell me what this is all about?" We looked from another and then I spilled the whole story to Wilson. His first reaction was worry and comfort offering any kind of help he'd be able to give but I didn't want him to get in the middle of all this. It was bad enough I'd dragged House into it. Wilson left right after determined to make sure there was no more copies of the epic failure of keeping our relationship a secret.

"Well, it's out." House said as he sat next to me on the couch.

"Yes." It was all I could say. I didn't feel embarrassed of being with House but the whole hospital seeing it in details was low ranking on my list of things to happen along with the classic being naked in class. I sighed deeply and put my head on his shoulder. "I'll need to explain all of this to the board or they'll think it was you." House looked down at me with a quizzical frown.

"Why would I do that to myself?" I shrugged.

"No idea but every stupid thing that like that happens they assume it's you who did it." He grinned like the school's bad boy; proud of being bad and taking credit for it at every given opportunity.

"Then they don't know me very well." He said slowly as he took my good hand and inspected the palm before lacing his fingers with mine.

"You can thank yourself for that," I smiled and looked up at him finding him smiling back at me.

"I like being mysterious and complicated." He leaned down and gave me a kiss. "And we'll get through this even now that they all know just how big your ass is and that your fun bags are real."

I groaned.

"I can never show my face out there. Think about it even old Stevenson at age 100 will know what I look like naked now." He smiled.

"What's the problem?" I shot him an incredulous look. How could he not see the problem? "Look at it this way," he gave me a trademark smirk. "The women will be envious that naked you're as gorgeous as they hoped you weren't and that your breast down sag despite your age and the men will proven right in every fantasy." I wanted to cry.

"Which means they'll never listen."

"They never did in the first place. Or if they did they'll quickly remember that you're the dragon lady and start paying attention again." He picked up one of the pieces of trash and smiled. "And it's kinda grainy anyway." In that moment I loved him more than ever.

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	6. Chapter 6

**_I'm so sorry it took so long to update this... But I spent time well; I watched the movie Disturbia for inspiration (and Tritter-dude was the bad guy, scary I tell you) so I'm on par with the creepy stuff….or I hope I am…I'll let you be the judges. Enjoy._**

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We were exiting my car at my house. I'd wanted to stop by to check on the state of my home feeling worried it had been burnt down or the whole neighbourhood had been plastered over with the same poster as the hospital. We'd spent most of the day debating a strategy on how to tackle it all and then set about to take control of it all, claiming all posters and had a system administrator delete all the e-mails from all account within the hospital before I had adressed the board and explained the situation. They'd voiced their concerns about House and I being involved but no where was there any rules against it and I'd assured them work would remain the same as always.

My neighbourhood was quiet as per normal, people settling for the night and kids already in bed, and I couldn't see anything out of character as I locked the car and walked up to the front door, House in tow. He took my hand and although I was unwilling to admit it I was happy he was here. I felt sure he was able to put good use to the cane should he want to. There was an almost eerie silence as we walked up and I looked around for anything lying around but it was completely void of objects I hadn't put there myself.

I dug my keys out of my purse and unlocked the door. As it opened it creaked like an old cat and swung inwards to the dark foyer.

I took a deep, calming breath before I reached in and turned the lights on. I half expected it not to work but it switched on and bathed the small entranceway in warm yellow light. House stepped up behind me pressing lightly against me as he held my hand tighter. I guess we both felt the tension imagined or real.

I stepped inside and House followed not letting go of my hand. I peered around the corner to my living room and my heart sank to the bottom of my stomach; the whole room was split into little pieces leaving more or less nothing intact. My jaw dropped as I took in the scene; the sofa had been gutted like a stuffed animal, the tabled broken in two, the chair was lying upside down with a broken leg. All the pictures, books and other stuff on my fireplace and shelves were scattered around the room all broken, ripped apart or covered in something dark.

"Wow this is pretty fucked up." House whistled taking in the room as well. I didn't want to see more. I wanted this to end.

"I'm calling the Police." House nodded.

"I'll check on the rest of the place." I shook my head.

"No. Stay here." I gave him a pleading look and he nodded as I called the Police.

"They'll be here soon." He nodded and walked with to my kitchen that was equally smashed up; pottery of all kinds everywhere among glass, plates and bent cutlery.

"This must have taken hours." House said in a low voice. I nodded and then I wanted to know what he'd done to my bedroom. I pulled House along and pushed the door open. The sight had me gulping. The room looked like something out of Beauty and the Beast; all torn and unrecognizable. This wasn't my bedroom any more. There wasn't a single piece in the room that was larger than 10 by 10 inches. Even my bed was hacked up into pinewood. It seemed House was for once lost for words as he wrapped an arm around me and gave me soft kiss on the check but the comfort paled in comparison to my privacy invaded and hacked up.

I felt numb and the reality of it all seemed lost on me. That fact that Thomas could still be here hiding, that the rage that had spurred this one was one short location from being directed at my actual body or that to do this it seemed the guy would stop at nothing. Luckily for me House was his usual on top of things.

"This dude is even more fucked up than I thought. I mean to pick you as his target in the first place..." He trailed off as I looked up at him, tears welling up in my eyes and rolling down before I had a chance to even think of hiding them or wipe them away. Just as he was about to say something a noise caught both our attentions. It was a crack from the living room and the ice-cold hand of fear had me completely tense against House. He turned his head to look in the direction of the noise just as all the light was turned off and we were left standing in the dark.

I started to back up in the room making a beeline for the window but stopped as a shadow crossed the hall and I had to keep myself from screaming as I tugged hard on House. We had to get out and it had to be now. With no idea of where the person actually was the best idea in my head was to escape through the window and make a run for either the neighbour's house or the car.

Another creak got me jumping and squeeze House's hand even harder and he finally backed up with me seemingly getting the idea about the window. I refused to take my eyes of the hallway as I backed up and I neared screamed in pure fright as I hit the wall and edged my way to the middle of the window. I was fidgeting with the lock on the window as the next creak sounded; it was just outside the bedroom.

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**_Short I know but lemme know what you think =)_**


	7. Chapter 7

**_Thanks all who reviewed, you warm my heart =) I know it's mean to leave with a cliff-hanger (I hate it myself) but you can be happy I have such a vivid imagination I actually got a nightmare from writing this so I had to write more so I can sleep tonight ^^_**

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I froze and stopped fumbling for the locks on the window, holding my breath for the most terrifying moment in my life. Nothing compared to this. I had no idea who was outside or inside or where the person was or how far that person would go in this game of cat and mouse it seemed I'd involuntarily been dragged into.

Unlike me it seemed House was more with it and he turned opening the window fast and precise before he pushed me towards it with out a word. I stumbled out of it not landing completely on my feet and getting my back caught in the seal as I jumped. I hissed from the pain as House's legs came out first and then followed by the rest of his lanky body. I breathed a moment of relief; we were out! I stood up shakily and looked around.

But my relief was short lived as a loud bang resonated from my bedroom as a large object came sailing though the air and landed in House's chest knocking him over on the lawn. He groaned in shock and pain at the same time as I gasped. I was torn for a millisecond between closing the window and getting House to his feet. I choose the window figuring I had time to get House to his feet with the window blocking the way from any more things or the actual person.

I slammed it down as hard as I could, the glass vibrating in the frame, as I peered through the glass into the blind darkness. A flash and a shadow moved inside and for a second a pair of eyes were looking straight into mine, boring into me and piercing my very soul with the hate that emanated from them. I'd never before given thought to evil or the idea of the devil but as the dark eyes looked back at me I felt I'd met it. And then the eyes were gone as quickly as they had appeared leaving me staring blindly at the spot.

I broke the spell as House kicked me on the ankle and I jumped back turning to House.

"Can you get up?" I sounded peeved and whiney to my own ears as I looked down at House who had managed to throw off the object by himself.

"A hand would be nice," he spat and I quickly offered my hand stemming my feet against the ground as he used me to get up. Time seemed to have stopped and at the same time to race forward like a steam train. House was moving too slow where as I had a creeping feeling the person inside wasn't. It felt like my skin was crawling at the thought of being a mouse with no idea where the cat was. The adrenaline in my body was being pounded around like mad and I found it hard to hear anything with the thuds thundering in my ears.

House tugged on my hand and I found myself following blindly not paying much attention to anything but the shadows around us and a tell tale sign we were being closed in on. It was all quiet around us, eerily pressing on my ears and the feeling I wasn't able to hear at all was overwhelming. If it hadn't been for the sound of our footsteps with House's familiar limp, I'd have assumed I had gone deaf.

It was like the whole world had decided to stay away and mind its own business on the one night it would have been a welcoming save that a noisy neighbour walked past with a snotty dog on their nightly walk. But they had all got the memo from somewhere to stay inside.

We turned the corner to the front lawn and House peered around it like a hawk surveying the land below. He turned to me his face serious and hard.

"We need to run for the car, " he whispered, leaving no room for argument. "Hold my hand and don't let go. No matter what." I tightened my grip on his, my knuckles now white matching my face. I nodded and just then House set off in a limp run towards the car. I looked around but I couldn't get a clear look of my front yard as we sprinted for the short distance over the grass.

I felt the rush of relief as we both reached the passenger side and he flung the door open, pushing me inside, across the seat and behind the wheel before he followed himself. I locked the doors and sunk back.

"What are you waiting for woman!? Get moving!" I looked down at the ignition and then started fumbling for the keys in my pocket only to find them void of any kind of keys.

"I don't have the keys…" House looked at me like I had lost my mind.

"What? How?"

"They must be inside…or I dropped them on the way…" He groaned in frustration as he looked out into the darkness. It was all quiet, my door ajar like a black portal to the underworld gaping at us, grinning and I knew I'd never be able to look at this house as home again.

I tried to think of when I'd last had my keys but it had all been to fast and I came up short for any kind of idea.

"I can't believe this!" he growled as he fished out his cell phone but swore as it came apart in his hands. "Fucking crap!" I started digging for mine and as I got it out I handed it to him. He grabbed it fast and as he pressed in the numbers on the phone it lit up the small cabin, revealing the same pair of eyes looking straight at House from the other side of the door, my car keys in hand.

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**_Oopps this chapter is no better but it's late and I need to sleep. The ending is actually from a nightmare I had a few years back..I swear I could write horror movies with my dreams lol_**

**_Anyway, pls lemme know what you think and I'll try not to let this hang for too long =)_**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks very very much all for the reviews!! You're all awesome and I apologize for reducing some of you to whiney 5-tear-old, was not my intension. Well almost not ;-) This chapter is more harmess and Huddy 3**

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My heart almost did a leap out of my body, it was pounding so hard as the three of us just stared at each other.

It felt like a whole lifetime had passed by when he finally moved to my side of the car, unlocking all the doors in the car as he reached my side.

"You can make this easy, Lisa-love," his voice was sleazy and cold making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

With the indication of choice it was like my body finally made peace with my head and decided on survival. I lunged forward and opened the door so it slammed open in the guy's face with a dump sound and he disappeared out of view.

I closed the door again and sat back, breathing hard.

"Wow Cuddles. Remind me never to stalk you."

Just then the Police car appeared behind us and the second it took me to look behind us, the guy was gone. Vanished into the darkness. I sunk back as relief flooded me and I felt tears press in the corners of my eyes. I Looked at House who was looking into the darkness in front of us with a murderous look.

"House?" I croaked out and he finally turned to me, his looked softening immediately.

"We're ok." He said and I felt myself relax, muscled I hadn't noticed were flexed so hard I knew they'd ache in the morning finally were let go as I more or less flung myself at him and buried my face in the safety of his neck and arms.

He hugged me to him and for once he returned the hug as desperately as me while mumbling we were okay. We both jumped as the Police knocked on the door.

"Please step out of the car." We looked at him and the sight of the two of us softened his look. "You called about a break in?" I nodded. I didn't have the focus to form sentences right now. Administrator be damned, for once I was just a normal person who was freaked out and scared. He nodded.

"You saw anyone?"

"Yes the fucking idiot was playing cat and mouse with us." The Police officer nodded seemingly not offended by House's language most probably used it.

"Stay in the car. I'll go look and call for back-up." We did as told.

"What the fuck is that sick bastard thinking?" House mumbled as he rested his head on top of mine, staring out into the darkness again. I looked up and I felt the usual guilt taking over; I dragged him into this and now he was being chased as well as I was by some psychopath who seemed limitless in his attempts to get what he wanted.

"I can feel your guilt, Cuddles." He smiled and looked down at me, something about his joke made me smile.

"I-" He cut me off with a kiss.

"We're in this together so stop it." I nodded and gave in resting my head against his chest waiting for the Police to sort out this mess.

**~~o.O.o~~**

Sorting out mess turned out to be a long process ending with us finally coming home to House's apartment around 3 in the morning with a shiny red panic button and feeling like life had been slowly dragged out of us over the last 4 hours we'd spent telling various police officers what had happened, what Thomas looked like, that we didn't know him and the list of things to say only seemed to grow longer the more questions we answered. But in the end the Chief had arrived looking pale and angry and had sent us home in a police car with the instructions that should anything at all happen we shouldn't hesitate to call or press the panic button.

"I'm hungry," House said as he flopped down on the couch as I was securing the chain on his door. It wasn't till the mention of food my stomach growled reminding me it was a good 10 hours since I last ate.

"Me, too." I said and started to head for the kitchen.

"You'll be really disappointed." He said, his voice gruff with exhaustion. "But I can use a beer." I opened the fridge and peered inside. There were beers and some container I wasn't sure I wanted to even go near. I grabbed a beer and put it on the table before I started going through the other cabinets till I ended up with some rice, some canned tomatoes and some onion.

Putting the water on and starting to cut he opinions I occupied my mind with the trivial task of cooking rather than that Thomas was still out there and most likely even more angry than he had been before.

I jumped as House's hand slid over my hips and he stepped up behind me. I took a second to lean back and enjoy the nearness of him before I kept cutting the opinion and putting them on a pan and then adding the tomatoes.

"You have any garlic?"

"I don't know." He answered simply before he gave my neck a soft kiss. "It doesn't matter. I'm so hungry I could eat anything." I smiled vaguely. He stood behind me as I cooked us the meal and then we sat on the couch next to each other as we wolfed the food down so fast it almost burnt the roof of our mouths off.

"That was kinda nice." House said putting the plate on the coffee table. I grabbed it and was about to put it back in the kitchen when he grabbed my hand. "Leave it. It's been a long day, let's go to bed." I nodded.

"I'm just gonna take a quick shower, ok?" I couldn't help the feeling of being dirty after Thomas looking at me and I wanted it off before I went to bed.

"Okay."

Coming back into the bedroom he was sitting on the edge of it looking at me only clad in boxers. I walked over to him curious and almost wanton and he smiled up at me as I let the towel drop giving him full view of my naked body.

"There's my Cuddles." He pulled me to sit on his lap before he slid his big and strong arms around me and captured my lips in a possessive kiss. Returning the kiss with as much fever and possessiveness I was almost writing on top of him. I had never in my life felt horny like this. I needed him as close as possible right now. I needed another human to verify life, not all the destruction and hate I'd seen tonight.

I bit his lip and then let my tongue sooth the bite, which made him grab my ass hard pulling me as close to him as I could come straddling his lap and with his growing erection pressing against him thigh. I started rubbing self on it electing several moans from him and a hand down my front seeking out my folds. I was ready for him.

"I need you now…" I almost begged and for once he didn't take the time to mock me or tease me but flipped us over before standing and removing his boxers letting his impressive little House spring free into the cool air of the bedroom.

He bent down with a smile playing on his lips as he kissed my calf and slowly started kissing his way up inner thigh. I gasped, I was so sensitive and on edge with no patience for games.

"House…" he looked up as he reached my hip.

"Yes Cuddy?" I begged him with my eyes not able to say it and it seems he got the message as he lied down over me covering my smaller frame with his lanky one. I put my arms around his neck immediately and pulled him to me kissing him. I could feel him tease my entrance with his tip and I pushed up against him wanting nothing more than him inside me. He granted me my wish as he slipped in slowly allowing me to adjust to his impressive size. I groaned. I didn't have time for my body to adjust.

I raised my hips trying to create movement but House pushed me down with a gentle hand.

"Easy there...what's the matter with you?" The look he gave me made my heart melt; it was gentle and caring. Something I hadn't seen from him since college when I'd broken my arm and was trying not to cry. I shook my head at him. I didn't really know what was going on with me.

"I just…" The words were stuck and I felt myself getting frustrated and embarrassed so I looked away from him. I felt his lips on my neck, soft nipping kisses moving up to my ear.

"I love it when you can't have me fast enough." He breathed and then he started moving in slow long strokes, hitting every spot inside me just right and I moaned in response to him. I turned my head back to him and found him staring down at me intently with a trademark House "I'm-watching-you" look. But instead of sarcasm out of his mouth he kissed me slow and tender at first but then we both got more aggressive and as he picked up the pace of his hips I found myself just clinging on to him, my legs closed over his back and my arms around his neck till I felt the familiar rush as my orgasm broke and I pulled him with me over the edge.

We stayed wrapped in each other till we were cold, the sweat dried and our breathing back to normal before House finally broke the spell by lifting his head and looking down at me. He smiled a small smile before giving me a quick kiss as he got up.

I followed him and he gave me a smile as we finished our business out there before snuggling up in his bed. I was almost asleep when his voice broke the silence.

"What are you gonna do about your house?" I turned over in his arms.

"I'm gonna sell it when it's fixed again…" We looked at each other neither of us wanted to break the tension or say the wrong thing. Then he nodded.

"I'm beginning to wonder if you set all this up so you could move in with me." I couldn't help but smile; this was his way of saying I was welcome to stay. I closed the distance between our faces and kissed him.

"You know I'd be capable." He grinned.

"Yes, you are one hell of a cunning woman."

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**OMG I wrote it!! I have rewritten this chapter like 10 times and it was stuck in my head! God! Anyway hope you liked and not to worry, it'll be scary and creepy again soon enough he he ^**


	9. Chapter 9

**Thanks all for the reviews. You all make me wanna write this story much more =) Even when I should be in bed and I know I'll be drinking coffee like water tomorrow ^.^**

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Waking up the next morning I was abruptly shaken from sleep by a dream and even if I was so sore I was doubting I'd get out of bed that day, I tried to move but found myself unable to. Panic rose like fire through me and I started to fight my restraint, sore muscles forgetting they were so tightly wound they was threatening to pop as I started to thrash around in a wild attempt to free myself. I was sure Thomas had got me in the night and I was about to die. My heart was beating so fast it was like flutter rather than an actual beat and my breathing was laboured and rushed.

"Lisa!" House's voice rang out. "Goddamit woman. Relax!" I tried to get away from whatever was holding me till I saw it was my own blanket and House on top of it holding me down. I stopped as suddenly as I'd begun and lied back down. "For…" he looked at me as the tears came flooding.

"I thougt it was him," I cried and his face softened as he lied back down next to me. I hugged myself to him and buried my head in chest. He held me to him as I sobbed the fear out. He just let me. He didn't say anything but he held me.

"We could have…"

"No." He said with conviction. "He's a stalker. He's a coward."

"How can you be so sure?" He kissed my cheek.

"Cos you attract wooses." I looked up at him.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I felt my usual argumentative side rise and he smiled at me.

"You have a long standing row of idiots, geeks and wooses behind you. You never knew what you wanted in a man."

"I did." I said quietly and his smile grew to a fond one rather the leer. He pressed a kiss to my lips.

"You had no clue, Cuddles."

"I did you were just to pig-headed to see it!"

"You wanted a career and so did I." He countered.

"Which we have now." He smiled.

"Yes we do." We lied there just looking at each other as if seeing each other for the first time in years and in a way it was like that. This was what college never was; we were ready and we didn't have to give all our dreams up to be with together. If we'd got together back then and stayed that way we'd most likely either have killed one another or have 2,1 children, a house, dog and fight in the supermarket over milk. Part of me wanted that more than anything but I knew that would never be House and probably not me either. He closed his lips over mine and I knew this was the thing I'd wanted all along. Him.

**~~o.O.o~~**

I'd decided to go to work and I was trying to operate paperwork with my left hand but my signature still looked like a 3rd grader's even after the 100 plus attempts at it. I sighed and was about to get up and go for lunch when a deliveryman knocked. I nodded to him and he entered with a package that I quickly signed for. Without thinking I opened it and jumped back as the content was revealed to me:

House's cane.

I didn't take time for anything but sprang out of my shoes and headed for the door running like I'd never run for anything in my life before. I didn't hear people's concerned questions as I raced by taking the stairs 2 steps at a time before finally reaching his floor. I legged it down the hall and was almost not able to stop at his office door as I was desperately looking inside for him. It was empty.

I opened the door so hard it creaked and ran into the small room. I searched the desk for the note I knew was bound to be there and quickly found it.

"It was just too easy."

I threw it and stood there in the empty office feeling so lost words couldn't describe it, breathing so hard from my throat constricting at the thoughts that were racing through my head at the speed of light. Had he taken House?

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Yay back to cliff-hangers ^.^ You know you love it! Sorry it's so short but if I wrote more it wouldn't be a cliff-hanger *evil cackle*


	10. Chapter 10

**Thanks for all the reviews – as always! You guys are awesome.**

**This chapter might be the last for a while. I'm moving to another part of small small Denmark (huge for me but you Americans will laugh at it, I know) and I have no idea when I'll be fully settled in with inter-web and all but I should have access to it at the Uni so I'll do my best to up-date but it might be a while – but I'll write on it so might be a lot when I do actually get to up-date =)**

**And I'm sorry wooses is wusses, of course.**

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I was standing in his office looking at the note left by Thomas. At first I didn't know what to do but fishing out my cell I pressed the sped dial for him. I hoped that now he was getting some some he'd pick up but as it went to his voice mail telling me I had the wrong number if I was looking for the prominent doctor House but if I wanted to exchange my hard earned salary on sexual animosity I should leave name and number, I realized it was a vain hope.

"Damn you House." I left his office with the note crumbled in my hand heading for Wilson's office. It was empty, which didn't really tell me much until I finally came up with the great idea to call him. He picked up on the second ring.

"Dr. Wilson, oncology."

"Do you know where House is?"

"Erm Cuddy?"

"Yes, you know where House is?"

"He's not with you?" My heart sank.

"No."

"When did you last see him?"

"Around an hour ago when he was slouching on my couch telling me things I had no need to know about you two."

"Ok." I hung up. What to do now? Where to go? This was House. He could be anywhere hiding, doing work or even just napping in some random bed. I didn't want to panic or cause panic but after last night I wasn't sure what to think or what Thomas would really be capable of. And I didn't want to find out with House as the target.

I spent the next hour looking in all the usual and unusual places he used for hiding but I came up empty handed. As I was going back to my office bent on calling the Police a familiar form crossed the entrance hall, a broad smirk meeting me.

"House! My office! Now!" It was like my whole inside was turning in a mix of relief and anger. And he barely managed to close the door before I exploded in that very same mix channelled in hysteria.

"Where the hell were you!?" He looked taken back but then settled for a sullen expression.

"I don't have to tell you all I do just cos I'm getting an all access pass to your humid cave." I shook my head at the vulgarity.

"I don't know if you noticed-"

"Will you calm down!?" he shouted and I clamped my mouth shut like an oyster. "What happened since I left you here 3 hours ago?"

I stretched my hand out to him and he took the crumbled note from me unfolding it slowly as I almost feel into one of my couches.

"And your cane is in the box." He walked over and I noticed now that he had a new cane.

"That's what I was doing." He said calmly and waving the cane at me. "You like it?" I didn't know whether to laugh or cry and it all came out in a snorted sob. He looked at me oddly. The cane was black with a dragon snaking its way from the bottom. "I think it's fitting now that I'm seeing you." He sat down next to me. "Lisa." I looked up at him and he smiled reassuringly, which was kinda scary in itself. "I told you he's wuss. He won't do anything real. He wants to scare you." I nodded and he leaned in and gave me a soft kiss.

~~o.O.o~~

I was riding home alone in the car humming along with a random tune on the radio. House had been forced to stay at the hospital and I'd hung around for as long as I could find excuses to do so. It was almost 11 and I was tired, wanting nothing more but to curl up in a bed that smelled like House, now that I couldn't be with the actual House, and sleep. I turned the last corner to his apartment and parked the car. Wilson leant me his making me promise to pick him up in the morning on my way to work.

I got out and took my bag with me as I swung the door closed before locking it. I was hurrying to the door and without realising I was holding my breath, which I didn't let go until the door was firmly locked behind me.

Feeling a lot calmer I put my bag down and headed for the bathroom straight away. I wanted a bath to make me relax. I didn't think to check around the apartment or even turn on more than the little lamp House had on the smaller table as I walked through the living room. As I reached the bathroom door a creek in the floor made me spin around. A shadow was towering over me and something was being swung at me.

I reacted instinctively and ducked with a surprised scream. The object blew past my face and connected with the doorframe with a dump and hollow sound. I didn't stay around to figure out what it was, though. Realizing I had only one choice and that was to get past the person in front of me and back into the living room where the panic button was I lunged forward using my shoulder to topple the man over as he was still trying to regain balance after the missed blow. I could hear him grunt as he was pushed aside and fell on the floor. Passing him by an immense pain short through my leg. The man had swung the object at my leg and hit it on the side of my knee with a crack.

I fell hard on the floor knocking the wind out of me as I landed. My hand was throbbing after the impact and my legs felt like it was broken or dislocated at best. I could hear the man move behind me regaining his composure much fast then me. All I could do was gasp for my breath

"Why are you fighting this, Lisa-love?" There had not really been any doubt that it was Thomas in my mind but hearing him only confirmed what I'd try to block out. "It's pointless. I know you want this." I bit my lip so hard that I managed to focus on something else then my leg and I started to crawl towards the living room. I could see the button now and I clawed towards it with determination I never thought I had. "Where you going? It's gonna take you a while in that state." He leered behind me but I ignored him. I didn't care; all I had to do was press that button and so far it didn't seem he'd caught onto my plan. I reached the table and slammed my hand down on the button so hard it broke my skin but it didn't matter. I had pushed the button letting someone know I was up shit creek and I was using my only paddle.

"Oh that wasn't so good." It was the last thing I heard or saw as it all went black after that.

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**Yay, I finally got it written. Took me a long time considering how much free time I had last week but it was stuck. What do you guys think?**


	11. Chapter 11

**Thanks all for your patience! I finally got this written and it took this long more because of schoolwork rather than lack of inter-web (still don't have internet at home yet) and it was very hard to figure out what had to happen and how to keep Thomas creepy but still sorta passive-aggressive. **

**And I was sorry (least for a little while ^-^) that I left you all with yet another cliffhanger. I will make sure I don't leave you hanging for as long next time. **

**Also, thanks all for you kind words both about me moving and the reviews for this story=) I love you all ******

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I woke up with a ringing headache spreading from the back of my head and running in what felt like long treads over the whole of my scull.

Groaning I lifted my head and looked around in a white room. I was in a bed of some kind, the sheets soft and crispy like a fancy hotel. I blinked and tried to focus.

The room around me was completely void of anything but the white walls, a white door, the white bed I was in and a small table next to the bed with nothing on it.

I lied back down before I managed to sit up. I almost had to lie back down from the pain in my head but I bit down the pain with a groan. I had always been verbal and channelling the pain in noise helped. I was about to swing my leg out over the edge of the bed but they didn't do as told.

I lifted the thin linen sheet I had over me and gasped as I saw my leg; it was blue, black and yellow over the knee and half way down my lower leg and it was lying in an odd angle. There was no doubt in my mind it was broken just below the knee. I was fucked. I needed a doctor and I needed it fast if this break wasn't going to start healing.

Lying back down I closed my eyes. I needed some kind of plan. I needed to get to a hospital. And I needed House like never before. The pain soon overwhelmed me and I drifted back to sleep.

~~o.O.o~~

I woke much later. It was dark around me and there was no hint of any kind of light around me or any sounds for that matter. I sat up this time quicker, my body getting used to functioning under pain, and peered around. I couldn't see anything different from before but somehow it felt different; like someone had been in here.

"Hello!?" I looked at the door to my left but nothing happened. "I need help!" Still nothing. It was all quiet.

~~o.O.o~~

I had been yelling for too long, my voice hoarse and sore now. I was sobbing, yelling, raving, all of which were lame attempts without the use of my leg and the severe pain in my head. It was still eerily quiet around me. There was no echo from the sound and I had soon figured this room was soundproof. But I still kept yelling channelling my anger and frustration in noise.

All of the sudden the door was opened and a flustered Thomas came striding in.

"Will you shut up!" I did as told purely out of surprise. "Thank you. I can hear you just fine but no one else can."

"Then let me go."

"That's some odd reasoning. Because I can hear I should let you go?" He chuckled. "Honey, we both know I'm not gonna let you go so stop being childish and keep asking." I knew he was right but to give up and let it go would mean defeat. And I wasn't a quitter.

"Why did you kidnap me?"

"I didn't kidnap you. I took you so you can live a better life. I can make you happy. I can give you children. The children we both know you want more than anything."

"Not more than anything." I looked him straight in the eye. I had never felt hate. I thought I had but this was the most intense feeling; I wanted this man to die; be blown to pieces and feel every limb part for his body. The sight of him flared my anger and I found it hard to control myself.

"Don't be silly, Lisa." He said. Patronizing. I was shaking with anger. "You never knew what you wanted. But I know what you need. And I will give you the world."

"Give me my freedom. That's all I want."

"You don't need it. When you had it you were lost. You needed me and I'm here now. You didn't want me at first but you will learn to love me. Like I love you." It was pointless to argue with him so I hit the mattress with my good hand. "I'll leave you to it. Stay quiet."

"I need a doctor. My leg…"

"You're a doctor."

"It's broken. I need a cast or I'll never get to walk. It can-"

"You're a doctor. You can fix it." And with that he left closing the door behind him leaving me alone with the deafening silence. I groaned in frustration and like the headstrong girl I'd been and the even more headstrong and stubborn woman I was now, I continued to yell and make as much noise as I could.

"I told you to stay quiet!"

"I need to go to a hospital!" I yelled back. The door opened and he peered inside.

"If you run away or even say anything you can be sure never to see Greg again." I didn't doubt him for a moment. "You are my girlfriend. You fell while running with our dog." I nodded. I'd agree to anything right now to get out of here and have my leg reset in a cast. "I have ID for you. Your name is Laura Tisdale. We've been together for a few months but we're very much in love and you're sure I'm about to pop the big question." I nodded again. He stepped in fully and coming over to the bedside he helped me up, supporting me. I was almost psychically reacting to being this close to him but I controlled myself knowing I needed to play along. "Looks like you fell pretty bad, Laura." I looked up at him. He was testing me.

"Yeah," I found it hard to get the words out over my lips. "That dog really got me." He smiled brightly and scooping me up in his arms. He carried me out of the room. I was led down a narrow hallway with no other doors and finally up a set of stairs. In that moment I was happy he was carrying me although I had no doubts I'd have made it up myself if I had to. Being upstairs I was carried through a semi lit entrance hall. The stairs we'd just come up was under a set of stairs leading up to a first floor. I looked around as we walked out the front door. The house bore a scary resemblance to my house only with the first floor and basement added to it.

He helped me into a car and I slumbered back in the seat. The pain in my head was almost blinding by now. Thomas got in and smiled at me.

"What do I tell them about my head?"

"Tell them you fell into a pole of some kind. You don't remember too much about the fall itself. Happened so fast." I groaned my agreement.

"As long as they give me some painkillers."

He took my hand with I guess was an attempt of a genuine smile. The little hairs on the back of my neck stood up and I felt a chill run down my spine. I wanted to get away from him and fast was too slow.

The ride there was hazy. I tried to stay focussed and notice everything but nothing stuck. Road signs were passing by like blurry blobs.

Arriving at the ER I was wheeled in, in a wheelchair feeling like I was about to pass out. I lost track of time and I didn't realize I'd passed out till I woke up in a hospital bed. Thomas was next to me reading a book of some kind. I didn't wanna wake up to this. I wanted to go back to sleep and not be here. But he looked up at me and smiled.

"Hey honey. Feeling better?" I looked around for water and seeing a can I flapped my arm like a helpless bird pointing at it. He poured me a glass and gave it to me. I gulped it down and closed my eyes. "You didn't answer me, Laura-love." I looked up at him.

"I feel fantastic. I was beat in the back of my head and had my leg broken before I-" He grabbed my hand so hard I could feel my bones crunching.

"You fell because of the dog while you were out running, remember, Laura?" I gasped in pain trying to pull my hand back but he held on and I finally caved.

"I fell. Let go….you're hurting me." He let go with a smile.

"I'm sorry, baby. But you can't conjure these fantasies. If the doctor heard one of them he might believe you. We don't want that, now do we?" I shook my head wanting nothing more but for a doctor to believe me. To ask questions. "And if you tell one, remember that Greg wouldn't feel so good." I felt the tears of defeat starting to fall and I turned my head away from him. "There's no need to cry, love. I'm here. Not give me a kiss and say you're sorry."

"You hurt my hand, you should say you're sorry." For a moment I was sure he'd hurt me again but then he smiled.

"Okay, I'm sorry. Now kiss me." I did not wanna kiss him at all. I'd almost rather he hurt my hand again. Or stabbed my other hand with a scalpel. I shook my head with a nervous gulp. His eyes went hard reinforcing the coolness in them and I tried to sink down more in the pillows as he leaned in over me. "You will love me." He hissed before he kissed me hard and forceful. With nowhere to go all I could do was stay still and think about House.

I stayed at the hospital over night. Not once did Thomas leave me alone or let me be alone or with a nurse, doctor or even a cleaning lady. By the time we were being sent home the next day I was going out of my mind in frustration. I knew if we could pull this off I'd disappear under the radar. I'd be Laura Tisdale and Lisa Cuddy would be gone from the world till maybe one day I had the chance to escape. If he'd ever let me be alone. If he didn't manage to make me pregnant and keep my child to keep me by his side. The doctor was smiling at me as he rolled me out handing me the crutches.

"Your local GP can take the cast off and remove the stitches. If you have any problems, don't hesitate to call me." I smiled.

"I'll be just fine. I'm a doc-"I stopped myself. I didn't know what Laura was supposed to be at all. "I'm sure you did a good job." I stood on the crutches. The doctor was looking at me oddly but then he smiled.

"I hope we did. Take care now, ms. Tisdale." I smiled and following Thomas out I felt like running, screaming, do something to make sure I had to stay here. But the idea of House being hurt from my actions stopped me. So I left the hospital, I left my one chance of escape behind and got in the car letting Thomas drive me back through small roads finally ending up in front of the house we'd left the other night. The road had a few other houses on it but they all looked empty. But it was in the middle of the day; they could just be working.

"I have someone I want you to meet." He walked up to a house next to the one I had been in when I woke up. He unlocked the door signalling for me to get in. "Don't be stupid." He pushed me inside and then closed the door behind me, leaving me in a partly dark house.

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**Yay, I'm getting good at these cliffhangers, right? :P Hope you liked it and I'll do my bestest to update soon =)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Thanks all for your reviews =) I'm sorry it took me soooo long to up-date but I been a busy bee being drunk and partying and I apparently can't write when hung-over. And I'm so sorry it's short as well…Okay, I'm sure you get the point; I'm sorry.**

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I had been in this odd new house for hours now and I had walked around the bottom floor once to see if I was alone. I had checked out the kitchen, which had a limited amount of food, there was a bathroom and a bedroom and then the living room I was sitting in. The sofa was lumpy, the chairs had more holes and loose threads than I could count and the TV didn't work.

I had also checked every single window and door, only to learn that they were all sealed with board overlapping from the frame of the window to the body of the house. Fat chance in hell I had any kind of chance to escape that way.

I sighed and closed my eyes. What had I done to deserve this? The rational side of me knew I hadn't done anything as such to "deserve" this but I wasn't all that rational in that moment. I was analyzing every thing I'd ever done wrong; from verbal lashes at friends, family and lovers to when I stole a pack of cigarettes and smoked them on the porch only to get sick and never touch cigarettes again.

I woke up as the sound of a door slamming and a dump sound from something landing on the floor in the hall. I got up struggling to manage the crutches with both my hands hurting. There was a groan and it sounded like someone was struggling to get up. Heavy breathing and several more groans and moans of pain.

"Mother fucker." The voice was female. It was gruff with pain and her laboured breathing.

"Hello?" The movements stopped.

"Wow he really did it…" She mumbled and then appeared around the corner from the to hall to the living room. "You must be the unlucky Lisa." The woman was beaten up badly; both her eyes were black and the left one so swollen she couldn't open it. Her face had several cuts with swollen bruising around them. Her clothes were hanging off her skinny body showing off several holes in them. Through the holes more bruises and cuts were visible. "I never thought he could actually get to you." She studied her hand and pulled off a small piece of skin with a careless flick.

"He told you about me?" She nodded and met my eyes. Looking into her eyes I knew why Thomas had kidnapped her; they were sparkling blue with small flakes of lighter colour. I guessed that when she looked normal she had to be stunningly beautiful. But now she looked like an advertisement for both anorexia and abuse.

"Yes he did. He tried to make me jealous even." She looked down at my leg. "Anyway welcome to hell, Lisa. Not that it matters, but I'm Norah." I nodded as she left going upstairs where I couldn't follow. I stood there looking after her till I decided food was what I needed.

I cooked up some pasta and some chicken with tomato sauce. As the food was finished Norah reappeared.

"He put food in here?" I nodded and pulled out a plate for her and filled it before handing it to her. She sat down at the small table that was placed under the one window that wasn't covered up in the house. I joined her and watched as she wolfed down the food so fast I was worried she'd choke.

"When did you have food last?"

"Last night. It was a whole chocolate bar." She wolfed down another bite. "Likes me weak so I don't kick and fight too much." I looked her over and I had a feeling she still put up one hell of a fight despite the state she was in. Norah continued to wolf down her dinner and I hurried up eating my own before she was done and moved on to mine.

At the end of the meal there wasn't a single drop of sauce left and Norah looked quite pleased as she leaned back in her chair with her eyes closed.

"How did you…?"

"Thomas took me. Like you. You didn't think he'd have more than one MO, did you?" I could forgive her hostility and I was so used to sarcasm and irony; it had a homey feel to it.

"No." She smiled and looked up at me.

"And I have a feeling we're not the first and not the last." Just then Thomas stuck his head around the corner and I almost jumped out of my skin.

"Holy crap." I hissed and Norah turned like a cat already prepared to fight. Thomas smiled at her.

"She's so cute like that, isn't she?" My first instinct was to hit him with my crutch. I swung it as hard as I could right at his head. To the day I die I will wonder how he didn't see it coming. How he could have two women caught and not prepare for a crutch coming at his face. But fact was he didn't. I guess maybe he figured I'd given up after the hospital. That I'd surrendered to my fate with him and wouldn't fight back.

Norah looked at me in wonder at first and then she smiled.

"I like you. Now we have to get the hell out of here."

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**A more humours cliff hanger, right?**


	13. Chapter 13

**Thanks all for your reviews! So happy you're enjoying this =) House will enter at some point soon. Not sure how or when but working on it. But I won't change the POV so House will be back when he's back with Cuddy. **

**I'm sorry for taking so long again. It was hard to write this for some reason. Anyways enjoy!**

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I doubted I'd ever felt so stupid as when Norah and I were standing outside in the pouring rain. I developed a new theory about panic as I came down from the rush of this escape; people are stupid. Getting out of the house from the kitchen had been a struggle in itself and Thomas hadn't exactly left his car open and unlocked for use. Forest and a few abandoned houses surrounded us; in short we had nowhere to go and no plan after my heroic knock out of Thomas.

"Can you hot wire a car?" Norah asked but then looked at me and my hands. "Even if you could I guess you'd be a bit handicapped." She sighed. "You know when you're s'posed to escaped your kidnapper you should really plan it. Not just pound him with your cane."

"I didn't mean to." She smiled softly.

"That was kinda obvious." She looked around in panic and then back at me. "I have a plan." I nodded, eager to just do something. She took my crutch and before I knew it she was swinging it at me. I ducked but lost my balance and tumbled over.

"What the hell-?" Norah just looked at me with wild eyes before she picked up the other crutch and walked away back to the house. I didn't understand what was going on. What the hell was she doing? I started to get up, fighting to not use my hands or legs and failing miserably resulting in a half yell of pain and I sunk back down on the wet grass. I had to get my head together and get up. I was free and I was lying here doing nothing about it.

Rolling to my side I bit my lip as I used my right hand to support my body and finally managing to get up. I stood looking around in panic. Where was Norah? Did want to keep me here? Was this Stockholm syndrome?

I took a wobbly step testing my leg and balance and almost fell again. I was stuck. Nothing I could do. The taste of freedom was slipping away and I had to accept I was too banged up to actually run anywhere or even crawl. The tears of disappointment and anger ran down my cheeks before I could control them making me blind to the surroundings.

"Laura?" Thomas was standing a few feet away from me looking angry and with a cut above his left cheek. "What you did was very wrong. I know you know that." I bit my lip as I tried to still my tears but somewhere inside I figured it didn't matter whether I cried or not. It was all lost. I was his and even when I'd tried to run I couldn't get anywhere. He came up to me and put an arm around my shoulders. "You're special, Laura. But I hope you understand I can't just let you hit me and not do anything." My mind went numb; thinking about Norah and what she looked like.

"I didn't mean to-"

"I know baby. But you did." He made a move to pick me up but I backed away, unthinking of my leg. I stumbled and almost fell yet again but he grabbed my arm and pulled me to him. "The more you fight the harder you're making it for yourself." Giving up was accepting being his so of course I pulled back again. Beatings were better than giving up. And when the first blow hit me I was prepared. I wasn't prepared for the pain however as the hit made my eyes sting and my head ring. He'd hit me over my left cheek and made me tumble to the ground with a splash.

"You wanna get up?" I didn't really but hell if he was gonna win this. I stumbled to my feet and tried to limp away from him but he grabbed me and hit me till I way lying in fetal position on the ground and not moving no matter what he did or said.

I was fighting my own body to even stay awake, feeling waves nausea from the pain. I couldn't tell you where it hurt the most; it was all just throbbing.

I whimpered when he lifted me and holding me in his arms as he kissed my temple.

"You know I love you but we can't have you hit me or try to run away. Even though you wouldn't really have gotten to far." I tuned out the rest of his mumbling and affectionate touches and just retreated to think about House.

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**Hope you liked it =)**


	14. Chapter 14

**As always; thanks for the reviews!! =D You guys are awesome. I have a plan for Norah…but I won't tell you anything, you're just gonna have to stay tuned hehe. And yes, House will be back soon. Like really soon =) My plan is to move this forward next chapter. But not sure he'll be the big savior. House doesn't strike me as the savioring type =)**

**Okay, I was sick today and finally had the time to sit down to write this up. I blame Bree In Diamonds as her stories are so good I didn't wanna write while catching up on what I missed :P**

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I woke up the next day disoriented and so sore every breath felt like torture. What the hell had he done to me? I hoped he hadn't broken any of my ribs. That would be painful for years to come.

I had to try and sit up. For no particular reason but because I had to. Clawing at the back of the sofa I managed to pull myself into a sitting position and looked around. I was still in the same room where I'd passed out on the couch. Nothing was different from yesterday. The room was still gloomy and looking used and spent like the ones you see in the movies when people are so poor they look through dumpsters for food.

I swung my good leg over the edge and using the armrest I pulled myself up to a stand. I swore I'd never give House grief over his leg after this. I started to take stock of the pain and possible injuries; I had tons of bruises and scraped along with a few deep cuts and some shallow ones. Some needed a good clean but weighing the pain against the chance of infection I decided it could all wait. I didn't have the strength to go clean up and I partly dreaded seeing myself in the mirror. I let a hand trace my face and the contour felt so foreign I cringed in sheer horror. What if I had to look like a freak the rest of my life? I'd never considered it but I did rely a lot on my looks. I liked that I was pretty.

I lied back down too tired from pain and worry already.

I spent the next few weeks doing nothing more but rest, I ate a few scraps I found in the cupboards and I found a make shift crutch in the form of piece of wood lying around

After my sore body began to function and boredom took over I wobbled around the house trying to find any way of getting out. The ground floor was so sealed up I was sure it'd be suited for a prison. Every door and window were glued and then nailed from the outside. There was little chance in hell I'd get out that way without making a racket and I had a feeling Thomas was around even if he didn't show himself.

I eventually climbed the stairs down into the basement. It was horrible and various horror movies flashed through my head from the moment I took the first step down the creaky stairs. It was dark and humid. It had taken me days to go down there and I'd managed to find a flashlight before ascending into the deep. I tried to calm myself telling me to stop thinking about Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Turning the flashlight on I peered around; there were no torn off nails or a bathtub with my best friend on a hook, which I thought was a good start. The basement was just one big room with a few pillars to support the house. The floor was dirt and a few places more mud than dirt. The room was windowless and at first I was about to go back up. The place gave me the creeps and I didn't wanna get caught down here and be accused of more wrong doings. But I'd always been curious and something dark in the corner caught my eyes as I let the light sweep over the walls one more time.

I limped over to it and looked down. It was a dress. Picking it up I flashed the light over it only to drop it like it was on fire; it was stained with blood. I don't know why I was surprised there was blood on it; Thomas had beat me almost to point where I didn't recognize myself in the mirror and Norah hadn't looked too hot either. But something about this abandoned dress tugged at my heart. The thought that some poor girl might have died here, never able to tell her friends and family she loved them or where she was. That girl could be me…

The next place I decided to explore was upstairs. The basement had me down for a few hours but after wallowing in self-pity I pushed the thoughts of my possible death aside and decided to keep looking around for a possible escape.

Mounting the stairs to the upper floor the first thing I noticed was that it was extremely messy; the wallpaper was torn off several places, the carpet was pulled up all over and cut up and there were only small pieces of what I assumed had once been furniture. The stairs led up to a small platform that overlooked the small entrance hall below. To my right there was a short hall with four rooms and to my left there was an open room littered with broken furniture and a few scattered pillows that oddly enough were still intact.

I decided on the hall and rooms. The first room was more or less empty but walking to the window I was looking for a way out. The window was sealed like the ones on the ground floor. I sighed and rested my head on my hand that was resting on the top seal. Looking out the world outside was grey and it was raining. But from this point of view I could see over the other houses and over the fields. I had hopes that there was a farm, a small village or anything with people but all I could see were fields.

I left the room to explore the other rooms but the next was a bathroom with a shower and the room after that was more or less identical to the first one. It wasn't until I made to the last there was any difference; the last room wasn't messed up the same way as the first. It had a bed with blankets and pillows. The bed was rumpled and I was sure this was where Norah had slept.

There was a closet on my left where a few pieces of clothes were neatly folded. I fought the temptation to take some and go down and take a shower. I hadn't done anything but wash the best I could since I got here, as I had no bag to cover up the cast. Part of me also figured it was better to stay dirty; less appealing to Thomas should he return.

I walked over the window and pressed on it like I'd done all the others in the whole house. Last chance. It creaked but it was sealed as well as the rest. I wasn't surprised but I still had to fight my disappointment as I was looking out over the forest that stretched behind the house.

Walking to the bed I sat down with a sigh. I could still look out the window and I stayed there the rest of the day before curling up the best I could in the bed and fell asleep.

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I was woken up as the sound of bumps from down the hall finally penetrated my dreams of home. I sat up and looked around confused. The bumps kept coming and now that I was awake it was mixed with grunt and moans. It sounded a lot like sex…

I didn't wanna know if it was sex and most certainly didn't wanna be near it or see it. The sound kept coming closer to my room. I got up and with nowhere to go I just stood as far from the door as I could, waiting for what was going to happen.

The door flew open, revealing Thomas with Norah over his shoulder. Norah was severely beaten but still trying to cling onto the door frame., moaning and grunting in pain and protest. Thomas looked possessed with red eyes and the determination written all over his face, a few cuts and bruises covering the left side. He threw Norah on the bed and then looked at me.

"I found her. She tried to run," he chuckled in a low menacing tone and I was scared of what he'd do next. "You're a good girl, aren't you Laura?" I didn't know whether to nod or shake my head and I looked down at Norah who was looking back at me. She shook her head slightly before closing her eyes. She looked haggered under all the bruises and cuts and I had a feeling she'd been running in the forest trying to get away. If possible she was even skinnier.

"Laura." He demanded my attention and I looked back up. I nodded slowly. I wasn't sure I was a good girl the way he wanted me to be. He smiled like a wolf about to pounce its prey but then he looked down at Norah. "I want you to clean her up. I need her ready in a couple of hours." With that he left us. That the fuck was all this about? I was relieved he didn't do anything to me but I was worried about Norah. She looked so beaten and weak and even more after Thomas had left. I stood for a second before I sat down next to her.

"Can you get up?" She opened her eyes. They were sad and the hopelessness in those starkly blue pools almost had me in tears.

"Don't clean me up for him." She sounded as weak as she looked. "He'll…" her voice broke and a tear ran down her cheek. Suddenly anger flared in me; she'd left me to this monster.

"You left me here. You took my crutches." She looked back at me.

"Yeah I know that," her voice harder this time. "Who you think he's been chasing and who he's been ignoring?" I wasn't sure I could trust her but for now she had a point. Thomas had been away for long enough for me to heal up.

"Well if I don't clean you up…?" She sighed at the implied question.

"Then you're most likely gonna have to clean up for him." I gulped.

"Clean up for what?" Norah sat up.

"Exactly what you think it means."

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**Okay, so another cliff hanger. Lemme know what you think =)**


	15. Chapter 15

**Thanks guys for the reviews. Seems the last chapter raised a few questions: I meant weeks. As in Cuddy has more or less been alone in the house for about 3 weeks while Thomas was chasing Norah. By clean up I mean; imagine what someone looks like after 3 weeks in a forest, on the run and then they get beat up..not very pretty. That kind of clean up. **

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I was trying to wrap my head around the fact that if I didn't clean up Norah I most likely had to go with Thomas instead. I didn't want either to happen but when push came to shovel I refused to sacrifice myself for someone who'd run off and left me here.

"Well he wants you." I felt so cold and it was like something inside me changed. I had made the choice; myself first. She croaked her head at me.

"I didn't think you had it in you." She closed her eyes and lied back. I stood for a few minutes undecided about what to do with myself but then I turned to the window. I needed to get out of here and it had to be fast. I'd rather make a run for it than sit and wait for an outcome I had no control over. I gave the window a hard push and it creaked. And then it dawned on me how stupid I had been. The windows were made of glass. I turned to Norah.

"Norah." She didn't react so I walked the few steps over to her and shook her lightly. She groaned but opened an eye. "Do you know if he's got something on the windows in case they get broken?" She looked over to the window and then she smiled.

"Not that I know of." I nodded.

"Anything else that might alert him if we get out of the house on the back side?" he shook her head.

"But getting out is one thing, Lisa. This is nothing but farm land and forest and I didn't find any indication of people near enough for us to stand a chance to reach them before he finds us." I smiled.

"We're not going anywhere. He is." She furrowed her brow.

"What do you mean?"

"What's in the other houses?" She shrugged.

"I don't know."

"Well, we're gonna find out. Get up." Norah got up immediately and we spent the next half hour barricading the front door before we broke a window in Norah's room and cleaned it of all glass. As we stood there looking out Norah turned to me.

"How will you climb with your leg?" I shrugged. I didn't have time t consider my leg or any other possible pain. We had to get the hell out of here.

"I'll manage." I determinedly climbed up and pulled my leg with me before scooting out. There was a small roof outside the window and I scooted to the side allowing Norah to climb out as well. She was surprisingly agile and she stood up looking around.

"There's a drain pipe over here." She walked over to the edge and she reminded me of a ballet dancer more than anything. I however decided not to stand and instead I scooted after her to the edge.

"I'll go down first?" I nodded. It made sense as she was the lightest of us and the chance of her breaking the pipe was smaller than if I went first. She turned around and getting on her knees she slowly lowered herself over the edge. She grabbed on to the drain and started the climb. She made it look easy. Once she was down she looked up.

"Come on." I mimicked her technique and turned around. My leg was sticking out with no possible ways of bending it but it didn't matter. I held on to the side of the house as I lowered myself the same way Norah had and then I wrapped my one good leg around the pipe. I lost my grip on the side and instead of a smooth ride down I instead bumped my chin on the drain and only just managed to grab onto the pipe before I fell to the ground.

"You okay?" Norah sounded concerned and nervous.

"Yeah," I croaked. My chin hurt like nothing else and I could feel the blood flow down my neck. Dammit. I slowly started lowering myself and as soon as she could Norah grabbed onto my leg and helped me down.

"Okay. Which house?" We looked around; there were one on each side of us.

"Left." Norah quickly decided and we set off. I was walking on the cast and if it broke I'd be screwed but there was no time to think about these things as we quickly reached the house next to ours. Thomas could have heard something or have decided to go see us at any moment. "What if it's got other women in it?" I hadn't thought that Thomas maybe had more than us.

"I...I don't know." She nodded seemingly happy with my vague answer and then turned to the house again. She walked back and forth a few times and then around the side telling me to stay put. I did as told aware that I trusted her too much. She could do as before and just run. I sighed and was about to go after but just then she came back around the corner.

"There's a porch door and it's open." We made our way into the house that was completely dark and barren. There were no furniture, carpet or any other indication of people. And it had a sodden and humid smell.

"We should stay up here so we can see Thomas." Norah nodded and we took up place in what had once been a kitchen where we could overlook the space in between the houses and Thomas's car.

After a while and the cold was having an effect on both of us we, huddled up against each other for warmth. We talked a little bit and I found out she was an intern in internal medicine in Kentucky, she was only 23 and she had always thought she'd end up a professional dressage rider until she decided she wanted to be a doctor. I had no idea for how long we sat there but at some point we saw Thomas come out looking smug and pleased with himself. We watched him cross over the grass and then try to get the door open, swearing and yelling. He tried for a long time and finally the door gave way to his temper. It went quiet for a while and then he came racing back out, swearing once again.

He got in his car and sped off.

"Okay so what now?" Norah asked looking at me.

"We wait a little and then we start walking in the opposite direction of where he went and we stay off the roads for a while till we're somewhere where we can hear or see more than a few cars." Norah nodded with a smile.

"Let's go get some of the stuff from the house like clothes and food then." I nodded and we raided the house for useful stuff, put on all the clothes there was before we left the house again. Thomas had taken off in the direction of the woods so we decided on the fields.

Norah suddenly stopped as we were passing Thomas's house and then looked at me.

"He's got a phone in there." I was torn. A phone would be beyond useful but what if he came back and we'd walked right into where he wanted us?

It could also be a trap. What if Norah was so fucked up by all of this she didn't wanna leave? I hesitated but Norah didn't wait for me as she walked up and opened the door. She stepped inside and I found myself following despite my doubts.

The house was dark even thought it was in the middle of the day. There were dark furniture all over and dark curtains, which created a cave like atmosphere.

"The phone's over here." Norah navigated the house like it was second nature. She picked up the cradle and held it out to me. "Anyone you wanna call?" I walked over and I dialled the one number that popped into my mind; House. Thinking back I should have called Wilson or 911 but I wanted to hear his voice more than anything. He picked up on the 8th ring the second time I called.

"Unless you're my missing girlfriend or can tell me where she is you're wasting my time." He voice was gruff and he sounded sad.

"House?" I could feel the tears on my cheek before it registered that I was crying.

"Cuddy? Where are you?"

"I don't know. Somewhere out in the middle of nowhere."

"Are you okay?"

"No. I…" The sound of screeching tires broke into my conscience and Norah looked so scared next to me I almost peed my pants. "House he's back. I have to go. I love you." I hung up and looked at Norah. She looked around in panic but then seemed to gather her thoughts and dragged me along down a corridor. She opened a door and then we were in the dark going down into a basement.

"Shhh. He wont come down here." She pulled me further down and I tried to walk as quietly as possible when the sound of a door being pulled open and Thomas came in. He was stomping like a furious child and it easily covered my movements as Norah navigated the dark and pulled me in under something and forced me to sit down. We could hear him move around above us, muttering threats of murder and worse. If he found us when he was in that state I had no doubt in my mind I'd never get away from here as anything else than maggot food.

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**A little bit of House. I know not much but I got the story moving =) Let me know what you think please !!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Thanks to all who reviewed =) It's a bit longer than I usually write but I wanted to move the story along as I think it has to end soon (and I want House back in it as well =) Enjoy!**

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I was sick with fear as we sat in the dark. We were sitting so close I could feel Norah's hipbone against me and she was trembling. Thomas was still roaming about above us but he'd gone quiet after a while, stopping the strings of curses and profanities. I had lost track of time as my muscles cramped up from being tense as well as sitting under this thing, whatever it was.

I'd never been afraid of the dark. I'd been one of those children that led the others on the night runs but now it was like the darkness was alive around me. I knew it was my mind playing tricks on me but I couldn't help it. I kept seeing shadows around me moving and hovering just out of reach. I blinked and shook my head but they were still there like ghosts of my mind. They formed faces of horror and whispered things I couldn't hear.

I was fighting vomit when Norah put an arm around me and hugged me to her.

"Relax." She said so low I almost didn't hear it. "Close your eyes." I did as told and the shadows were gone and the only thing that had my attention was Norah's breathing; it was slow and steady. How could she be so calm? Did she know what was gonna happen? Had she planned this? I pulled myself from her.

"You're in on it with him…he's gonna come down here…" My voice broke and just as well as Norah put a hand over my mouth.

"Shhh. If you want him to come then keep yelling." She hissed and then forced me to sit back here I'd been sitting next to her. "I want to get away." She said sombrely. "But right now we're stuck and the best hope we have is that whoever you called can trace it. So shut up and relax." I wasn't at all accustomed to be told what to do but something about the way Norah had said it made me do as she said. But I wasn't sure I could trust her still.

"What's down here?" I could hear her turn her head towards me and then in a hushed voice answer me.

"Rooms for…" She took a deep breath. "You don't wanna know Lisa. Trust me. It's only make it worse."

"Were you here often?" I asked, feeling terrible already. The idea of what was down here was in my mind worse then knowing what actually was. The shadoew were dancing in my peripheral vision and I needed a distraction. I knew about the room I'd been in but I hadn't seen anything else but the hallway and then the upstairs.

"Yes. I was here alone a lot. In here." It dawned on me she'd taken me where she'd been beaten.

"Did he…?" I had to know if he had raped her. I just had to. At the time I didn't know why but Norah did and she answered me with a surprisingly strong voice;

"Only once. He knocked me out, tied me up and then waited till I came around." Even at the low volume of her voice I could hear the sorrow and pain. "I screamed all the while. I tried to bite him. Kick. Anything to make him stop but it was only spurring him on…" She trailed off and we sat in silence for while till the shadows became too much and I was about to ask her another question.

But a bump from upstairs had us freeze and look up. Stupid as it was but human reaction couldn't be helped. A few more bumps and then a slam. And then it went all quiet. We sat frozen for what felt like forever as our ears were straining to hear what was going on but no sound came. None what so ever.

"Did he leave?" I asked breaking the silence.

"I dunno." Norah gave me a small push indicating she wanted out. I scooted to the side and she crawled over me like a cat. She snuck out of sight and she moved so silently I couldn't hear where she was as she left me sitting. The shadows were dancing like mad and taunting me like wolves would taunt a prey before the kill.

I held my breath trying to hear what was going on. I was so scared I knew if anything happened I'd loose control of things I preferred to stay in control of. A creak in floorboards had me listen even more intently. Another creak a bit higher up and I caught onto what Norah was doing. She was going up. I wanted to go up there and stop her. She couldn't go out there if he was still there. Again the thought that that was her plan all along entered my mind and images of the two of them laughing at me flashed before my inner eye.

But despite my paranoia I kept seated. I'd make a raket trying to navigate this place in the dark with my leg. I'd just have to trust her. I sat for a long time and just listened intently and I grew more and more sure that Norah had either left me or was plotting with Thomas. I felt like crying and the urge became stronger and stronger for every passing minute I sat abandoned, the shadows never leaving me and soon I accepted them as the only companions I had.

But then out of nowhere the sound of feet moving over the floor caught my attention.

"Norah?"

"Shhh." She was back and I breathed a sigh of relief. With flick the light came on and I blinked blinded by the sudden brightness taking a few seconds to gain focus as the shadows finally melted away. Norah stood by the door looking at me but also blinking in the light. "He left. His car is gone." She said but looked around with a paranoid look anyway like she wasn't sure she was right. "We need to go now if we're to get out." I nodded and stood. As I stood I noticed the room around me; there was a metal framed bed in one corner with ruffled sheets that were filled with blood in blotchy stains. At the post and bottom there were handcuffs and on the middle there was a belt to strap someone down. I winched. There were a couple of shelves behind Norah with sex toys on it, lube and a long whip hanging off to the side. It spurred me on to get out and I wrote off the shadows as contours of the items on the shelves as well as my stressed mind working in over drive.

We left the room and turned off the light. No need to let him know we'd been hiding under him and hadn't left till after he had.

Getting out was easy but I was expecting him to pop up any moment and laugh at our stupidity to think we'd stand a chance at escaping. But as we exited the house in what was early evening now, I breathed another sigh of relief. It would be fully dark soon making it easier for us to hide and harder for him to track us.

We set off in to the fields as we'd agreed on and I pushed myself and my leg as hard as I could wanting to make the most of what little light was left to navigate by. We walked in silence, both bent on walking as fast as we could.

As darkness fell around us we slowed down and I noticed Norah was limping more and she was obviously feeling the strain and pulls of her beatings.

"You want to take a break?" She stopped and turned to me with a pained look.

"I think I need a doctor." I looked at her with worry furrowed all over my face, looking for what could be wrong with her. "I feel funny…" her voice was weak and her eyes were glazed over. She was not doing well.

"Sit down." I helped her sit and she lied down immediately. "Where does it hurt?" I asked checking her pulse, which was alarmingly low especially after we'd been walking for this long; it should be strong and high.

"My abdomen. I…" She coughed covering her mouth with her hand and when she took it away there was blood on it.

"Crap." I had to make a choice now. I could leave her and go for help hoping I could find my way back if I found someone or I could stay with her and keep her warm hoping it wasn't as bad as it looked.

"You have to go…get help." She croaked and I knew she was right. She didn't stand a chance with me sitting next to her watching her die. I nodded and took off the sweater I'd taken from the house and passed it to her.

"I'll hurry." Was all I could come up with and with one last glance at her I left her lying in the field parying I'd make it in time to save her.

I stumbled along the field looking for any kinds of indications of roads, cars, life of any kind. I lost track of time of how long I was walking as I focused on just taking the next step, one at a time.

After a long time I finally stepped out of the field and stood on a gravel road with a fence on the opposite side of me. I looked up and down the road for signs of which way the house might but it was pitch black with no lights to help me. I was truly in the countryside.

I had to make a choice and I decided on left. It's the heart side so I picked that in the vain hope that would be the right one. The road was easier to walk on than the field and I made my way forward much faster. If my wobble can in any way be called faster than a slow crawl.

Walking on the road however made me feel like an easy target; if Thomas did find me here or anyone else for that matter I'd be so easy to just scoop up and take along. No one would ever know where I'd gone. Or that I'd even been here in the first place. Thinking about it made me look around and again the shadows were playing tricks on me as they seemed to bob and dance moving around like prowling wolves, just waiting for the right time to strike a wounded animal. I felt like I was loosing my mind.

I was so wound up, my breathing ragged and my heart pumping like a steamroller, I almost passed a dark house on my left. At first I thought it was just another shadow but at a closer look it was most certainly a house standing amongst the fields and in front of a barn.

I walked up the small road leading up to the front door where I stopped and looked at it. It had a sign on it:

"Mr. and Mrs. Roberts Morrison."

I didn't hesitate to knock at the door and immediately a dog began to bark. There was short commotion and then I could hear steps. My heart was pounding even faster now. The person to open the door could be my saviour or my executioner.

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**I'll pretend to be sorry about this cliff-hanger but you all know it's just to get you writing reviews for me. I'm sorry there's still no House but I have actually written up most of the next 2-3 chapters but decided to keep them in case I change my mind about what I want happening (but House will be back next chapter, not to worry...I think) ^.^ **


	17. Chapter 17

**First of, thanks for your reviews =) I'm happy you like this. I love writing this (despite the fact that it sets my overactive imagination spinning..) Secondly, House is back! Yay! And not to worry, I got plans muhahahaaa! But for now a bit of fluff (ish)…**

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A man in his 40'ies opened the door, looking out at me with the sullen hard face of a man that worked every day and wanted nothing more but to sleep at night.

"What you want!? It's in the middle-" He stopped when he saw me more clearly as the light of the hallway flooded out over me. I could only imagine what I looked like. Scared and dressed in rags, my hair and eyes matching in wildness and looking desperate for help.

"I need help." He nodded and from that moment everything was being handled. The Police came, already alarmed by House after my call that they'd managed to trace. They told me House was on his way and that he'd meet me in the hospital. I had a feeling they just wanted me to get in the ambulance and get me out of the way as they were setting up search for Norah. I was nervous and worried about her. I didn't want to leave the search party and even tried to convince them I was fine and I should go with them out to look for her. But they blankly refused my help and eventually managed to get me into an ambulance.

I was brought in to the nearest hospital where I was checked over from head to toe, asked so many questions my head was spinning at the end of it and then questioned by the Police who wanted to know what car Thomas was driving. Had he given off any information about himself? Where he might go? I was unable to answer anything. I couldn't remember his car or what it looked like. All I wanted was to hear they'd found Norah and see House. But as times passed it seemed like none of it was going to happen.

Dawn broke and I refused to go to sleep despite the nurses and doctors' advise and encouragement.

In the end they gave up on me and sent me down to have my cast redone as it was cracked all over from running, walking and all the other activities I'd put myself through.

After that there was nothing to do but wait and I found myself wandering the halls to keep awake. Where was House? Why wasn't he here? I didn't know what was worst; the tiredness, the paranoia that I didn't want to tell the doctors about in case they came up with a set of pills to make me sleep, feel nothing and forget who I was, or the fact that I wanted House here so bad I had to count to 10 so many times I made to 2000 to stop myself from bursting out in tears.

I stopped my meandering at a window overlooking the parking lot. Maybe I'd see him come? I stood there lost in my own world. At least it was light now. No more shadows.

"You should sleep." I jumped as his soft voice came from behind me and I was almost sure it was figment of my imagination till I turned and he stood there, very much alive and House. He looked like hell; he had an almost full beard, his hair stood up and he looked as tired as I felt.

Seeing him was the final straw; I tried to hold back the tears but in vain and I all I managed to say before my voice broke completely and all I was able to do was sob, was a whispered 'House'.

He stepped up to me right away and pulled me into a bear hug that was so tight I felt like fainting but it didn't matter. All that mattered was that he was here.

Between sobs I tried to tell him teverything but I don't think he understood a word I said. He merely rocked me gently and showered my hair with kisses till my sobs stilled and there were no more tears to cry. I didn't wanna let go of him, not now, not ever.

"You need to get some sleep, Cuddy." I looked up at him, the fear of separation most have been clear on my face and he smiled down at me. "I'm not going anywhere. I could do with a some sleep, too." He dried my cheeks with his big hands before giving me a gentle kiss. "If your big ass leaves any room for me in the bed that is." His joke made me smile. Not a big smile but a smile, still.

House led me to my room keeping his arm around me. Not much was said; it wasn't needed. Neither of us were good with words and I doubted we'd ever be.

While I crawled into bed House shed his coat and other clothes till he only had a pair of boxers on and a t-shirt. He smiled as I made room for him the best I could. He didn't hesitate to get in and pulled me to his chest with a tired sigh.

I wanted to stay awake and enjoy this; that I was with him again. AHowever the warmth and much needed comfort lulled me into a sleep almost right away.

**~~o.O.o~~**

I woke up with a fussy and warm feeling for the first time in so long, it felt like the ist time it had ever happened to me. I was lying on my side and House behind me, hugging me to him with one arm and the other under my head.

"You awake?" He asked and just the sound of his voice made me smile and cuddle more up to him.

"Yeah." He gave my shoulder a kiss.

"I missed you." I turned over in his arms with huge smile. He sounded genuine and the look he gave was as close to as adoring as it could be when talking about House. He dropped a soft kiss on my lips. "The nurse came by earlier and we agreed you just need rest and food."

"You agreed with a nurse?" I asked not believing a word he said. He chuckled and the glint in his eye told me he'd set the nurse straight and told her what I needed.

"Yes. I told I'm your doctor."

"But you're not. I'm your doctor."

"No don't argue with the good doctor's orders, ms. Cuddy." He mocked but the smile lingering on his lips told me he wasn't anywhere near irritated. I put my arm around his neck and pressing my lips to his as I pressed my body against him. He returned the kiss with eagerness and a horse moan escaped his lips as I put my leg over his hip.

But then I stopped as I sad one of the tops I'd been wearing from the house and I remembered Norah.

"Did she say anything about Norah? Have they found her?" House's face sank and he avoided my eyes.

"House…" I sat up, confused and frustrated. I couldn't explain how a connection was made between us in the short time we'd spent together but there was one, never the less and I had to know that she was okay. She just had to be. "Tell me!"

He sat up as well and pulled me to him in a comforting hug. That didn't bode well.

"They don't know if she'll make it. They found her this moring at the house. They think Thomas found her or she went back herself. She's been in surgery since they brought her in with severe internal bleeding, kidney damage, a cracked skull and a multitude of broken bones. They're doing everything they can but she is emaciated, anaemic and they're not sure her body can handle the stress. Her heart stopped twice already…" he trailed off as tears ran down my cheeks. I felt guilty to the point where I had to throw up. She'd been through so much before I came and because I left her she might die now.

Images of her there with Thomas, all alone in the basement, were flashing like neon signs in my head; She was nothing more but a scared girl. I should have been there with her. Instead of her.

I rushed to the bathroom and emptied my already empty stomach before sinking down holding on to the sides as I gave up trying to keep it together. Norah was dying and I had left her. It was all my fault…

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**Okay, c'mon…see there's this button down there *points down* If you press it, yeah? And write stuff (preferred about what you just read) then you make me (the author, should you have any doubts) very happy. And, we all know you're a good person that wants to do that, right? =)**


	18. Chapter 18

**First off, soooo sorry it took me this long to write this but I had some serious problems with my back making sitting down as well as concentration more or less impossible. Sorry. Second thanks for your reviews and patience =) Hope you enjoy this chapter.**

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I woke up after what I knew had been a long sleep. It was dark out side. I felt groggy and like you do when you take a nap in the afternoon and then instead wake up when it's all dark out side and eerily quiet.

I looked around and for a moment I doubted I was still in the hospital but then I saw the monitors that weren't switched on and the light from the hall out side and I let go of the breath I didn't know I'd been holding. I was still safe. House was still asleep behind me breathing softly with his arm around me, holding on protectively.

I sat up and looked around for a cane of a crutch and saw House's next to the bed. I had to pee so bad it felt like my bladder was twice the size it normally was. I untangled myself from House who woke up right away looking around with a groggy look.

"I'm fine," I reassured him and he nodded silently. "Just gotta pee." I left him lying and hurried to the bathroom wanting to get back as fast as I could.

Turning on the light I half expected Thomas to be there; waiting for me but I was rewarded with an empty and clean bathroom. No one was here. I sighed at myself. Was this paranoia gonna stop any time soon?

I did my business and then returned to the bed and House. I lied down facing him and he turned from lying on his back to face me, too.

"You just gonna stare at me?" I nodded. It was still hard to believe I was here with him. It seemed unreal and like dream too good to be true. I reached out and put my arm around him needing conformation that he was indeed there. He returned the hug right away, pulling me flush against his body.

"I want to go see Norah later." He nodded and gave a soft kiss on the forehead. I closed my eyes relaxing in the comfort of his presence and allowed myself to just be. This nightmare was over. I'd made it through and surprisingly unharmed. I should be feeling good but something was nagging at me. Something was wrong. I tried to shrug it off but the feeling lingered as I drifted off to sleep with House caressing me.

**~~o.O.o~~**

Something was holding me and it was holding too tight for me to breathe! I kicked and turned as prickles spread over my skin in patterns of pain. I tried to scream but it was stuck. And he was back. He was here. I wiggled and then opened my eyes to an empty bed and nothing but darkness. I breathed in shard intakes of air and realized slowly it had been a dream.

"God woman. I'm getting tired of you kicking me." House's gruff voice sounded from the floor. I sat up and peered over the edge of the bed at House who was staring back at me with a disgruntled look.

"I'm sorry," I could hear my voice cracking. "I was dreaming…"

"Really?" He snapped sarcastically as he got up. "I hadn't figured. Don't start crying. I was kidding." I sniffed and the tears slid down my cheeks.

"I can't help it." He sighed as he sat down next putting his arms around me.

"If you could I'd have a shrink in here in a flash." He said as matter of fact as if it were the banality of groceries. "It'll take time, Cuddles. And you need to let it." I nodded as I sobbed into his chest.

I spent the rest of the day in bed, resting and letting doctors do as the saw fit letting House be the judge of what they said. It was a relief. Wilson came at some point and talked to me but mostly House as the most I wanted to say what that I was okay. I didn't want to tell him about it all.

"We're going to cafeteria. You wanna come?" I shook my head.

"No thanks. I'm gonna go check up on Norah." House looked concerned for a moment but then nodded.

"I'll bring you a muffin. We need to get that huge ass back." The insults were reassuring and I nodded with a small smile. He gave my hand a squeeze before he left me alone.

I sat for a moment before I left the room as well drifting slowly to Norah's room in intensive care.

There were monitors all over her, keeping track of every vital she had. She looked worse than I had hoped. Her face was battered beyond recognition in a mix of swelling and bruising. I felt the tears tug but I took a deep breath and kept it at bay. Guilt was m second best friend but right now there wasn't any room for it.

I picked dup the chart but I knew what it said and the letters seemed to float around. I should have brought House here with me. I wasn't ready to deal with this alone. I turned around to leave the room not noticing till now that the curtains were drawn. They wouldn't do that with a patient so critical…

I tried to open the door and to my surprise it was locked. I juggled it in panic. I had to get out. I couldn't be caught again. A soft chuckle made me spin around. He was standing in front of the curtain, that covered the big windows at the back of the room, with a devilish smile on his lips looking straight at me.

"You didn't think I'd let you get away that easily, did you now, baby?" I pressed myself against the glass of the door wanting nothing but for this nightmare to end. It was supposed to be over! I was saved. I got out. But there he was closing in on me like the lion waiting for the weak and sick gazelle to be just that perfect distance to be leapt at.

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**I'm thinking of ending this story soon so within the next chapters I'll write and endning =) And as always; that green box down there let's me know you like what you read..or hated it if that's what you do.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Hey all. Thanks for the reviews. Not sure this is the happiest chapter but not to worry; I only write happy endings. Unhappy endings are for artsy French movies, not my style.**

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"Please just leave me alone." He smiled and it looked more like a hyena grin. I knew I couldn't reason with him. The only option I had was to try to escape.

"Don't fight it. You know what will happen when you fight." He stepped forward till he reached me and placed a hand on my hip. I desperately tried to push back more but there was no more room. "We both know you want it just as bad as I do." He leaned down and kissed my neck. I felt like my skin was crawling off me. I felt like an infection alienating my own skin from me as he nipped and bit at it. I wanted to scream but the only thing I was able to do was to open my mount in gaping gasp as tears ran down my cheeks. Why was there no one here to protect me or Norah?

"There's no need to cry, sweetie." He whispered against my ear and then softly kissing my tears of my face, which only made them all even harder. "I'll take good care of you. I'll give you everything you ever wanted." He half pushed me, half carried me to the bed next to Norah's. I tried to stem my feet against the floor but it was pointless, he was much stronger than me and I soon found myself standing with my calves pressed up against the side of the metal frame of the bed.

It was cold against my naked skin and I found myself focussed on that rather than Thomas's hands on my stomach. His hands were warm as they slid up my flat belly, over my ribs that after the starvation in the house were sticking out almost to the point of it being uncomfortable, and then finally made it to my breasts. His mouth was attacking my neck again; biting it, then soothe it with eager licks. Even if I tried to focus somewhere else it was impossible. His bites grew harder and I gasped in pain.

"I don't want you to go off somewhere in your mind." He whispered against my neck giving it a long lick. "I've wanted this for so long, baby. I'll be the best you ever had."

He took my hand and placed it on the sizable tent in his pants. I flinched and pulled my hand back, which only made him grip it hard and force it back with a moan. "Rub it baby." I swallowed hard but then an idea formed in my head.

I spread my hand out and cupped him and trying not to vomit as I did so. "That's what I'm talking about. I knew you wanted it as much as me." I kept rubbing him as he kept going at my neck but now a bit more gently although it would still leave marks.

He grinned when he pushed the thin material of the hospital gown to the side of my shoulder, exposing my breasts as the gown slid down to my waist.

"You're so beautiful." As he was looking down I twisted my hand as hard as I could and brought my cased leg up to his groin with as much force as I could muster. He doubled over with a half scream half groan of pain and I didn't waste any time sprinting for the locked door and unthinkingly and blinded in my panicked state of escape I jumped through the glass that splintered all around me in a massive crash and rain of glass fractures.

I will always remember the pain of landing; it was like a being pierced with needles all over my body that was unprotected as the gown had slid down only leaving underwear to protect my skin.

I didn't stay down however. I had to get away and no pain was gonna keep me lying there waiting for him to get over his sore groin. I stumbled to my feet, unseeing in my blinding fear. All I saw was the hall and the escape to my left in the form of a door to the staircases. All I could think of was that I had to get to House in the cafeteria down on the ground floor.

My lungs were burning as I ran the best I could to the door. I bumped against the wall and slipped in my own blood but I didn't stop. Struggling to regain my balance I clung on to the walls, smearing blood all over. Where were people? Why was no one here?

I burst through the door and started on the first set of stairs my leg bumping hard on the steps and I was sure I heard it crack at some point but my body was numb from pain and nothing registered.

And then I felt it; the tug of someone pushing me down. Tumbling I fell down on the cold steps before landing with a dump thud against the wall. I screamed, struggling to stay conscious. I didn't wanna die here. My whole body was burning with excruciating pain.

I grabbede at nothing and everything, wildly trying to get back up but I wasn't moving. I was stuck, screaming like mad and not hearing or really seeing what was happening as I was pushed down by him.

I only heard one thing that Thomas mumbled in a raspy hateful voice;

"If I can't have you…" The threat was unmistakable and I found the strength to squirm more as I felt his hands on my neck closing off my air supply. I coughed and I knew I was dying.

I was slipping, my fingers cramping as I tried to hang onto the threat of life I still had in me. My life didn't flash before me or anything like that; it was darkness with a comfortable peace in it. Urging me to let go and embrace it. Telling me that if I let go it'd all be over and I'd never have to think of shadows, Thomas or anything again. I'd be free. I blinked once and prepared to let go.

A thump crack all of the sudden sounded and the hands around my neck let go immediately. I fell to the floor, hitting my head but all I could focus on was coughing and spurting out blood as I desperately tried to get my breath back.

Then there was yelling behind me and more cracks. I turned my head to see House punching the living shit out of Thomas. He was here. I closed my eyes. I was safe. Finally.

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**Next chapter will be the end =) So review as this is your second last chance to lemme know what you think ;-)**


	20. Chapter 20

**Thanks to all you have reviewed this story and read!!! It's been a pleasure writing it :D I am terribly sorry it took me this long to write and ending but I just couldn't make up my min about how to end it and a boy got me more than distracted by partying :P**

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They say time heal all wounds. In a way they're right. It heals them but it doesn't make them go away. They scar will always stay on you. What Thomas did was scar my soul. Leaving an imprint of his evil motivations for selfishly taking me away from all I loved and wanted rationalising it as love for me to get what I needed. In the process stripping me of choice. Therapy got me this far but I still look over my shoulder in the car park. And mostly I'll wait till House is going home.

The court case had Thomas live the rest of his natural life in prison as a sex offender, murder and kidnapper. They cut him a deal to be ascertained in a mental institution if he confessed to all his victims and as the list grew a mix of guilt and happiness grew in me. I felt sad so many girls had died in the arms of this man because they didn't live up to his fantasies. Because they gave in, miscarried or died from the beatings.

Thomas couldn't handle if a woman gave up and lied down. He wanted what his mother had been to him and he hated it. Ambivalence had flooded Thomas's life from the moment he was born. His mother had fallen pregnant with a man who left to fend for herself and their child. She was poor, unable to keep a job and often taking her anger out on her child. It was a long and sad story.

I had been surprised at how cold I had been to it. I didn't care that he'd been beaten, left alone for hours, locked in the basement or even when he had been raped by his cousin. All I could see was Norah's face and her body as she had been fighting a fight for her life in the hospital stroking several times. I had stood there next to her, tears in my eyes praying she'd make it.

I had sat with her refusing to give up. I played her music, had House play the piano for her, read her book and watched TV with her.

She was in a coma for almost a month, doctors uncertain she'd ever wake up as she healed. They thought it was the shock or maybe she didn't want to live. No one knew.

House for the first time in his life managed to just be there for me and with me. He never complained and even suggested to have her transferred to PPTH when she was stable enough. If she was going to die she should die in my hospital with the best people around her to catch any hiccup.

But Norah didn't die. One day she woke up. Hazy and confused but she was very much alive and as the months turned into years she grew strong and well. She, like I, had scars always reminding us where we'd been. But she found a humour about it I couldn't. She was much stronger in a way.

The future however turned bright for all of us. I married House about a year after I had first been taken and shortly after I found out I was pregnant. House spent months not being sure if it was the life he wanted; torn between his fears of being as bad a dad as his own father and the want for love and family. It wasn't till our daughter was born he seemed to settle and accept his part as my husband and the father of Grace. He still had days where he didn't want to accept that this was his life but on the overall he was comfortable in the role of father and husband.

As for Norah, she and Wilson eventually found each other and were now married happily with a 1-year-old daughter.

It all seemed like we had a happy ending but it was relative to what had happened to us. If the past wasn't so painful this would be normal. I loved my life as it was but I knew that had Thomas never entered my life House would not be here with me. His inability to commit would have kept us apart never experiencing the most fantastic and wonderful relationship in my whole life.

As I was waking this very morning 4 years after I had been taken, a kiss was placed at the base of my neck followed by a playful bite. I smiled and wrapped my arm around him entangling them in his short messy hair.

We had both come to one conclusion; some times life sucked but if it hadn't sucked for us, we'd never had what we had now, which none of us ever regretted having.

His lips found mine in a lazy loving kiss.

"Morning." He pulled me flush against him mirroring the placement of my hand, entangling them in my hair.

"Hey," I croaked back to him between small kisses. He rolled us onto my back making room for himself between my legs, guiding his way into me with the practice of familiarity. He moaned lowly, more like a growl and I wrapped my legs around him, urging him on. I loved being woken up with sex. It was seldom we did as I was a morning person and House by definition hated being awake before 10.

Long live Sundays! He set a slow rhythm knowing full well he'd drive me crazy.

"House…" He shut me up with a searing kiss, picking up the pace. He knew what I wanted. And he knew time was limited. Grace was at his mum's since last night and wasn't coming back till around lunch.

Pressing on his lower back with my hands as well as pressing my pelvic upwards as I came I pulled him with me over the edge.

He smiled down at me. He smiled more now. He was still House. Sarcastic and alienating but he always pulled me back in. Made sure I never ran too far after a fight. And when we were alone he was a nice and loving. He said he had to be to get some horizontal action but we both knew he'd get it anyway. I couldn't deny him anything. He owned me heart, mind and soul.

He kissed the side of my mount softly, sensing I had a contemplative day.

"I love.." He mumbled. "It when you moan for me early in the morning." I smiled. It was House's way of saying "I love you." He did sometimes. Sometimes he ended a phone call with saying it and sometimes he said it clearly and as if he couldn't hold it back any more.

"I love you, too." He nipped at my throat and up to my ear.

"You know I love you. I married that gigantic ass of yours well knowing about its expansion plans." I giggled at him but slapped him on the arm as well before I pushed him off me.

"You're an ass." As I tried to sit up he simply just held him to me.

"You're not going yet. We finally have time to ourselves. Stay." I lied back down and he showered me in flurry kisses making me giggle as his stubble tickled my skin.

"House stop! Stop." He closed his lips over mine in a possessive kiss. I returned the kiss enjoying being the sole receiver of his attention. It wasn't often I was. Grace loved her dad and wanted his attention most of the time, work pulled him away as much as it always had and Wilson often came around with Norah in tow.

"I was thinking," he mumbled lowly having moved to his side and pulled me to him.

"Yes?"

"Shhh," he hushed me teasingly. "I was thinking," he stopped again only to test me with an arched eyebrow. I waited patiently for him and eventually he continued. "That we should go on a holiday." I looked at him oddly. House preferred to stay home, laze in the sun, play in the pool and drink cold beer most of his holidays. I didn't mind too much. It kept me near the hospital and as long as he was there with Grace it was okay. "Go somewhere where none of us have been." I nodded letting him talk and tell me the whole idea. "We could take Wilson and Norah as well?" I smiled and nodded.

"You already talked to Wilson didn't you?" He tried to look innocent but failed miserably. "It was his idea?" He sighed and smiled as he nodded.

"Yes. But what do you think?" I smiled.

"I'd like that….a lot actually." A rare smile split his face and I kissed him. I kissed him because he was in my life, because he was my husband, because he loved me and I loved him. I kissed him because he was the single most important person in my life. With him by my side I could handle anything.

"I was thinking we'd go to Bulgaria and see if there's anything to that Hostel thing." I rolled my eyes.

"No."

"But Mooooommmm…"

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**I'm sorry this took me sooooooooo long to write. I hope you liked my ending. I wanted something sweet Let me know what you think, please. I have written the start of my next story, which won't be this scary, but it's still on the idea phase. Anyway, thanks very much for reading and reviewing. You're awesome :D**


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